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Iran names head of country’s wealthiest foundation

After the passing of the head of Astan Quds Razavi, a charitable endowment, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei must find his replacement.

Thousands of Iranians from Mashhad welcome President Mohammad Khatami outside the Shiite Muslim shrine of Imam Reza in the northeastern holy city 05 June 2000. During the February parliamentary elections in Iran,  an ultra-conservative cleric was turned out of office and pro-Khatami reformers won all five seats in Mashhad, Iran's second largest city which is usually a right-wing stronghold. This is Khatami's first trip to the region since he came to power in 1997. (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/G
Thousands of Iranians from Mashhad welcome President Mohammad Khatami outside the Shiite Muslim shrine of Imam Reza in the northeastern holy city, June 5, 2000. — ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images

The funeral for Ayatollah Abbas Vaez Tabasi, the former custodian of the shrine of Imam Reza, was held March 5 in the holy city of Mashhad. It was a significant funeral not only because of who attended — Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Hassan Rouhani, parliament Speaker Ali Larijani and the head of the judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, all traveled from the capital, Tehran, to the northeastern city to attend — but it was the end of one of the longest tenures since the founding of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

With the passing of Ayatollah Tabasi there is now a vacancy for being custodian of one of the wealthiest charitable foundations in the country, Astan Quds Razavi; the position will be highly coveted for its religious and material significance.

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