19 Mar 2024
Tuesday 9 January 2018 - 16:51
Story Code : 289366

One year later, questions linger about former Iranian president's death

Al-Monitor | : The cause of Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjanis death a year ago is proving to be as difficult to explain as his storied political career. On Jan.7, Yasser Hashemi, one of Rafsanjanis sons, said President Hassan Rouhani hadrejected the findingsof the Supreme National Security Council regarding the cause ofRafsanjanis deathand ordered the councilto reopen the investigation.


This claim is not new, however. On Dec.16, one of Rafsanjanis daughters, Faezeh Hashemi, told an Iranian newspaper that the council had told her that Rafsanjanis body had 10 times thepermissible radioactivity. Rafsanjani's brother Mohammad Hashemialso said on the same day that no one hasyet explainedhow his brother suffered from cardiac arrest. He reiterated these commentsJan.7, saying the lack of answers is leading to doubts about Rafsanjani's death. All of these comments made headlines across Iranian media and led to speculation, once again, about the sudden end of one of the most influential political figures in modern Iran.

Sudden, unexplained deathsof political figures are not unheard of in Iran. Ali Shariati, one of the most well-known intellectuals and revolutionaries in Iran, died in 1977 at the age of 43 while in exile in the United Kingdom. Two of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeinis sons died suddenly: Mostaphawhile in exile in Najaf in 1977 andAhmadin 1995, six years after his fathers death. Lesser-known figures wrapped up in political scandals also have died suddenly. A doctor who testified about torture at one of Irans notorious prisons also wound upmysteriously deadin 2009, with officials claiming it was suicide.

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