Hundreds of thousands mourned former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Tuesday, wailing in grief as his body was interred at a Tehran shrine alongside the leader of the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Rafsanjani's final resting place near the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini reflected his legacy as one of the pillars of Iran's religious-dominated political system, as he served in later years as a go-between for hard-liners and reformists.

The funeral for Rafsanjani, who died Sunday at age 82 after a heart attack, drew both the elite and ordinary people.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei prayed by Rafsanjani's casket, as other dignitaries knelt before the coffin on which his white preacher's turban was placed.

Rafsanjani, a close aide to both Khomeini and Khamenei, served as president from 1989 to 1997 .

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