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In death, Iran's conservatives take ownership of Rafsanjani

Iranian conservatives are maneuvering to shape the narrative of Rafsanjani’s political legacy in yet another attempt to subdue their Reformist and moderate rivals.
TEHRAN, IRAN - JANUARY 10:   Mourners attend the funeral of former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjanii, January 10, 2017 in Tehran, Iran. Rafsanjani, who was 82, was a pivotal figure in the foundation of the Islamic republic in 1979, served as president from 1989 to 1997. After a long career in the ruling elite, where his moderate views were not always welcome, his cunning guided him through revolution, war and the country's turbulent politics. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

In death, Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was able achieve something that had eluded him the last decade of his life: favorable coverage from Iran’s conservative and state-run media. Watching their effusive coverage of Rafsanjani’s funeral, one could easily forget that these outlets had spent the better part of the last decade committed to destroying the elder statesman’s political career. The editorial about-face, rather than being a result of a sensational media overcome with emotion over the death of a figure who played a central role in shaping the 37-year-old Islamic Republic, appears instead to have self-serving objectives — which does not bode well for Reformists and moderates hoping to ride Rafsanjani’s legacy and popularity to electoral victories.

In Iran’s political world, Rafsanjani’s four-decades-long political career has covered various, and even sometimes conflicting, identities: revolutionary activist cleric; right-hand man to the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini; powerful executive tasked with post-war reconstruction; and finally, surrogate of the fledgling Reformists and moderates. Conservative media outlets, which are sometimes backed by powerful conservative politicians and security organizations, seem intent on posthumously tacking on one more role to Rafsanjani’s political legacy: that of a revolutionary committed to Khomeini, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and, ultimately, the Islamic Republic as it currently is.

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