... the fourth President of Iran. He was a member of the Assembly of Experts until he was eased out in 2011 He continues, for the moment, as Chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council. In 2005 he ran for a third term as president, ultimately losing to rival Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was in Khamenei's graces back then. In 1980 Rafsanjani survived an assassination attempt, during which he was seriously injured. He has been described as a centrist and a
pragmatic conservativewithout all that much reason. He is currently being eased out of any position of actual influence or power and may be dead by the end of 2012...
rejected Saturday remarks attributed to him in which he allegedly criticized Tehran's chief regional ally, Syria, for using chemical weapons against civilians.
The rejection appeared on Rafsanjani's personal website after ultra-conservatives demanded the 79-year-old former two-time president clarify his stance on Syria.
"Recent quotes (attributed) to me regarding Syria... are absolutely not true," Rafsanjani was quoted as telling a crowd of war veteran families.
He echoed Tehran's official opposition to moves by the United States to launch military strikes against
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
Horror of Homs...
's government in response to its suspected chemical attacks near Damascus that are said to have killed hundreds of civilians on August 21.
"Unfortunately the people of Syria -- who have been for about two years struggling with civil war as well as different kinds of pain and have been unprecedentedly displaced -- are now the target of a foreign threat under the excuse of not yet confirmed use of chemical weapons," Rafsanjani said.
Tehran provides Damascus with material and intelligence support but denies accusations of arming the Assad regime to fight the uprising-turned-civil war since 2011 that has claimed more than 110,000 lives.