Iran mourns 'sheikh of moderation' Rafsanjani
Iran began three days of mourning Monday after the death of ex-president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a pillar of the Islamic revolution who became a leading counterweight to hardliners. Tributes poured in for the moderate cleric, including from President Hassan Rouhani, who was reportedly at Rafsanjani's bedside before he died of a heart attack aged 82. "Islam lost a valuable treasure, Iran an outstanding general, the Islamic revolution a courageous flag-bearer and the Islamic system a rare sage," Rouhani said.