On 8 January 2017, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the fourth President of Iran and the country's Chairman of Expediency Discernment Council, died at the age of 82 after suffering a heart attack. He was transferred unconscious to a hospital in Tajrish, north Tehran. Attempts at cardiopulmonary resuscitation for more than an hour trying to revive him were unsuccessful and he died at 19:30 local time (UTC+3:30).

Iranian government observed a national mourning period of 3 days. Rafsanjani's body lay in state at Jamaran Huseinieh, near where his house was located. Thousands of the people and officials from Iran and other countries visited his body at Jamaran. A state funeral was held on 10 January 2017 which was attended by millions of people and his body was buried at the Mausoleum of Ruhollah Khomeini hours later.

Funeral events Lying in state Rafsanjani's body lay in state at the Jamaran Huseinieh in north Tehran hours after his death from 9 to 10 January 2017. Approximately thousands mourners viewed his body over the two days. The crowds grew larger each day and thousands who queued on the final day could not be accommodated and were turned away. The ceremony was also attended by Rafsanjani's family, Iranian officials like President Hassan Rouhani and his cabinet, parliament members and its chairman Ali Larijani, Tehran Friday prayer Imam Mohammed Emami-Kashani, Chief of Staff for the Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri and Quds Forces commander Major General Qasem Soleimani, Ruhollah Khomeini's survivors (specially Hassan Khomeini), former parliament chairman and a close friend Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri, former MP and presidential election rival Ahmad Tavakoli, former government members (Akbar Torkan, Mohsen Rafighdoost, Ahmad Madani, Abdullah Nouri, Manouchehr Mottaki etc.), public figures like cinema director Ebrahim Hatamikia, former national team and Persepolis head coach Ali Parvin, singer Majid Akhshabi and some foreign figures which included Iraqis Ibrahim al-Jafari and Ammar al-Hakim, as well as Iraq's ambassadors to Iran.

Place of burial Hours after his death, his office announced that a state funeral would be held on 11 January in University of Tehran, with the place of burial being Mausoleum of Ruhollah Khomeini. It was previously announced he would be buried at Fatima Masumeh Shrine in Qom, but his family decided to change the place of burial.

State funeral Thousands of the people and government officials attended the ceremony and Ali Khamenei performed the ritual prayer for the deceased (Salat al-Mayyit) in his funeral. Some foreign leaders like Afghanistan's Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, Kuwait's Deputy Prime Minister Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah, Turkeministan Deputy Prime Minister Raşit Meredow, Iraqi foreign minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Georgian foreign minister Mikheil Janelidze, Azerbaijan parliament chair Ogtay Asadov, Malian national assembly president Issaka Sidibé, British Ambassador Nicholas Hopton, Lebanon's Nabih Berri and Armenian parliament speaker Galust Sahakyan also attended the event. The truck carrying Rafsanjani's coffin topped with his trademark white turban inched down Enqelab Street, one of the capital's main thoroughfares. Rafsanjani was buried next to the former supreme leader Ruhollah Khomeini.

There have been mentioned diverse statistics concerning the present population in the funeral, and it is estimated from 330,000The population of Hashemi-Rafsanja's funeral ensafnews.com Retrieved 5 April 2020 to 2,500,000.Funeral -- Hashemi Rafsanjani bartarinha.ir Retrieved 5 April 2020 According to BBC: "Tens of thousands of Iranians attended the funeral of the former president, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjan";Iran Rafsanjani death: Thousands attend ex-president's funeral bbc.com Retrieved 5 April 2020 also, according to Iranian TV and governor of Tehran, 2.5 million attended his funeral. It is also can be named as the third largest funeral in Iran; namely after Seyyed Ruhollah Khomeini's funeral who was estimated 10 (to 17) million participants, and Qasem Soleimani's funeral with 7 million in Tehran as well as other cities.The participating of 7 million Tehranis in the funeral of Shahid Soleimani mashreghnews.ir Retrieved 6 April 2020

Memorial services

Iran The Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran announced that a memorial service will be held in Beit Rahbari by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on 11 January in memorial of Hashemi Rafsanjani. It was attended by the survivors of Rafsanjani and governmental and foreign officials. Another memorial service was also held on the same day by the Rafsanjani family in the mosque of Azad University central building. Another ceremonies was held in different cities like Qom and Rafsanjani on 12 and 13 January. A ceremony was also held at Imam Reza Shrine The 7th Day (Haftom) ceremony was also held at Mausoleum of Ruhollah Khomeini on 15 January which crowds of the people attending.

Foreign states Memorial services was held by Iran's embassy at Baghdad, Kabul, London, Beirut, Tokyo, Ankara and other cities.

A memorial service in honour of Rafsanjani was held on 14 January 2017 in Najaf's Imam Ali shrine which was attended by key Shiite clerics.

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Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran called Rafsanjani an "old friend and comrade" and said his loss is "difficult and life-decreasing." He hailed a "companion of struggle" despite their differences. He noted that Rafsanjani's loss was overwhelming and very hard to bear, adding that their cooperation and friendship had lasted for 59 years. However, during a speech on the day of Rafsanjani's death, using a play on Rafsanjani's first name Akbar, Khamenei stated that it would cause harm to the Islamic Republic if a “reprobate or misled brother” turned out to be the “bigger Satan” and played the role of the real Satan in misleading the people", further stating that "this person is our enemy, too". In the traditional prayer for the dead, Khamenei also noticeably omitted the sentence attesting that the deceased lived a life of "benevolence and goodness". President Hassan Rouhani praised Rafsanjani as a great man of the Islamic Revolution. "The soul of the great man of the revolution, symbol of patience and resistance, has gone to Heaven", saying Rouhani on his Twitter. At the start of a parliament session on the next day after Rafsanjani's death, parliament speaker Ali Larijani paid tribute to the late leader, describing Rafsanjani as "a man for hard days whose name has been always been tied to the revolution and it will always be so." Chairman of the Assembly of Experts Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani, former presidents Mohammad Khatami and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi, Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, Mohsen Rezaee, Ali Akbar Velayati, Mohammad Reza Bahonar, Kamal Kharazi, Ali Movahedi-Kermani, Mohammad Yazdi, Yahya Rahim Safavi, Valiollah Seif and many more also expressed their condolences. Commanders of Iranian Army and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also expressed their condolences for Rafsanjani's death. Opposition leader, Mir-Hossein Mousavi said "Understanding of the revolution without his impact is impossible." Zahra Mostafavi Khomeini, daughter of Ruhollah Khomeini said that Hashemi's death was "bitter than poison for me". Sadegh Zibakalam, a Tehran university professor and prominent reformist also described Rafsanjani as "patiently stood against extremism", and said he will remember in history as a hero like Amir Kabir [Iranian reformist chancellor slain in 1851] and Mohammad Mosaddegh".

Political parties His death is described as a "blow" to the reformist movement of Iran. He headed the Expediency Council, a body which is intended to resolve disputes between the parliament and a hardline watchdog body, the Guardian Council.

Combatant Clergy Association, a party that Rafsanjani was a member of it but abandoned his activities since 2009, issued a statement and praised Hashemi's role in the Islamic Revolution of Iran and describes his role as "unforgettable". Executives of Construction Party published a statement on their website, describes loss of Hashemi Rafsanjani—a spiritual leader of them—as a "big disaster" for people of Iran and those who are interested in the way of developing prosperity and freedom in Iran. Moderation and Development Party, the ruling party that Hashemi's daughter (Fatemeh) is one of its central committee members issued a statement and describes Hashemi as "Father of the Moderation". The party also stated that "We are confident that his way will be continued by the lovers of the moderation and those who welfare of the people are important for them", saying party's spokesperson. Pro-reformists NEDA Party describes Hashemi's death as a shock news which grieved Iranians. Principlist Islamic Coalition Party condolences the death of Hashemi Rafsanjani and said in their statement that Hashemi was a great opposition of Shah's capitulation and was a helper of Amani, Bokharayi, Niknejhad and Harandi (founders of the party who executed by Shah regime). Asadollah Badamchian, a high-ranking member of the party said in a TV show that Rafsanjani has helped a group of ICP in the assassination of then-prime minister Hassan Ali Mansur. The claim was rejected by Rafsanjani's office. Newly formed Union of Islamic Iran People Party stated Hashemi's death are worried them at "a time that we needs continuity of his role in politics and strengthen the authority of moderation and hope", both domestically and internationally. Islamic Labour Party and its trade union Worker House issued a statement and describes Hashemi as "Great superman of history" and "Amir Kabir of the time". The party also said that Hashemi was a great supporter of workers and construction. Freedom Movement, an opponent of Rafsanjani during his presidency, published a condolence message. The party said in their message that Hashemi role in various fields, especially in recent years will not be erased from historical memory of the Iranian people and his absence will be felt in the political and social arena. The party also said "It's very difficult to judge the men of the actions [politics]".

Other commentators Top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, also extended his condolences to Iran over the demise of Hashemi Rafsanjani. Separate message was also sent by religious leaders like Grand Ayatollahs Nasser Makarem Shirazi, Hossein Vahid Khorasani, Hossein Noori Hamedani, Lotfollah Safi Golpaygani, Abdollah Javadi-Amoli, Yousef Saanei, Jafar Sobhani and others. Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom and Qom Seminary also announced memorial ceremonies in honour of Hashemi. Iranian newspapers across the political spectrum are paying tribute to Rafsanjani. Most front pages are splashed with pictures and captions highlighting his central role in Iranian politics. Many have used black as a background. "Iran mourns the death of contemporary Amir Kabir," moderate Arman-e Emruz announces, comparing Rafsanjani to the man widely considered to be Iran's first reformer and moderniser. An "irretrievable loss", moderate daily Iran laments, while reformist Aftab-e Yazd, under a picture of Rafsanjani's grieving children, affirms that "Iran is mourning". Even hard-line dailies are joining in the accolades. Javan notes his closeness to the founder of the Islamic republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in its headline: "Man of tough days of fighting and friend of Imam and the Leader rushes to meet God." Hard-line Vatan-e-Emrooz describes him as "one of the pillars" and "a genuine figure" of Iran's Islamic Revolution.

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