Ayatollah Khamenei in his message condoled with the bereaved family of Hashemi Rafsanjani on the "sudden demise of an old friend and ally of the era of Islamic Movement and a close colleague during the Islamic Republic era”.
Pointing to his 59 years of friendship and cooperation with Rafsanjani, the Leader said losing such an old colleague would be "hard and heart-rending”.
“His great intelligence and unique sincerity in those years were a source of confidence for colleagues, and for me in particular,” Ayatollah Khamenei underscored.
The Leader further said that differences of opinion and disagreements during these long years were unable to break bonds and friendship between him and Hashemi Rafsanjani despite the efforts made by plotters to take advantage of these disagreements.
Ayatollah Rafsanjani passed away at a hospital in northern Tehran on Sunday at the age of 82 due to a heart condition.