TEHRAN – The Expediency Council said on Monday it will not hold meetings until the Supreme Leader appoints someone to replace the late Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani as chairman of the council.

The council will hold its next meeting “not sooner than February 24,” the council’s secretary Mohsen Rezaee told a press conference.

Ayatollah Rafsanjani, chairman of the Expediency Council, passed away at the age of 82 following a heart attack on January 8.

Following Rafsanjani’s demise, speculations have continually emerged over who the next chairman of the council will be.

Rezaee emphasized that no one knows about who the Supreme Leader will choose to replace the late ayatollah.

He further expressed grief at the death of Rafsanjani, describing him as the old companion of Imam Khomeini and a comrade of Ayatollah Khamenei.

According to official reports, on January 10 more than 2 million people packed the streets leading to the campus of Tehran University to pay tribute to Rafsanjani, a man who was one of the founding fathers of the Islamic Republic.

Rezaee said this press conference “is a good opportunity to thank, on behalf of the council, anyone who took part in the funeral.” 

He also expressed gratitude to the Leader for his kindness towards the bereaved family of the deceased ayatollah.

“We hope that the soul of this old and dear companion of Imam [Khomeini] would join the souls of the martyrs and the Imam,” Rezaee said.

Rafsanjani was also a member of the Assembly of Experts, a deliberative body of eighty eight clerics that is charged with electing Supreme Leader and supervising his activities.

MH/PA