Former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani died on Sunday at the age of 82 after suffering a heart attack, according to state media.

The Late Akbar Hashemi was an influential voice who had supported improved relations with the United States and other Western powers.

He was also regarded a protector of what was left of Iran’s marginalized reformist movement and others with more moderate views than the conservative hard-line clerics who hold sway in Iran’s security forces and judiciary.

He played a pivotal role in the 1979 revolution but later in life became a counterpoint to hardline conservatives.

Mr Rafsanjani was admitted to the Shohadaa Hospital in Tehran on Sunday, where doctors tried unsuccessfully for an hour to save him, media said.

There will be three days of national mourning and a funeral in Tehran is due on Tuesday, which has been declared a public holiday.

• BREAKING: Curfew from 8 PM tonight (16) to 5 AM on Tuesday (17)
• 159 people remanded over 9th May violence – Police
• Train derails in Rambukkana
• Group of 10 Parties to support Ranil’s Govt, but will NOT accept ministerial posts – Gammanpila
• Sri Lanka Stumbles Toward Its First Default on Foreign Debt