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.