Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi played a significant part in the uprising — led by the late founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini — that overthrew the U.S.-backed Pahlavi regime in 1979.

Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, a philosopher, and political theorist founded the Baqir-ul-Uloom Institute and then the Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute in Qom. He also served as a member of the Assembly of Experts and the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution.

In a message on January 3, the Leader termed Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi as a prominent thinker, a qualified manager, with an eloquent language in expressing truth and perseverance in the right path.

Mesbah Yazdi died on January 1 at the age of 85 due to gastrointestinal disease.