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Iran: National Security Council Investigates Death of Hashemi Rafsanjani

Late President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (File Photo: AFP Photo/Atta Kenare)
Late President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (File Photo: AFP Photo/Atta Kenare)
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Iran: National Security Council Investigates Death of Hashemi Rafsanjani

Late President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (File Photo: AFP Photo/Atta Kenare)
Late President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (File Photo: AFP Photo/Atta Kenare)

The cause of death of Iran's former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani is once again stirring controversy after his son Yasser announced that President Hassan Rouhani rejected a report by the Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic Republic (SNSCI) concerning the details of Rafsanjani’s death.

SNSCI sent a letter to Rouhani demanding to shelve the case, however the president rejected the demand, ordering the council to re-investigate the whole case.

In an interview with Pana news agency on Monday, Yasser Rafsanjani revealed that his brother Mohsen was supposed to have the permission to study the report compiled on his father’s death and will soon head to the SNSCI to be briefed about the investigation.

In this regard, Rafsanjani's brother, Mohammad, repeated earlier statements about concerns regarding his brother's death due to a heart attack.

"Since the cause of the heart attack was not mentioned, there are doubts. This is the reason behind some speculation," Hashemi said in an interview with ISNA.

Hashemi pointed that there are bruises on the chest area of his brother as a result of doctors' attempts to resuscitate him.

In her interview with Etemed reformist newspaper, Hashemi's daughter, Faezeh, said that her family had been informed about the issue of radioactivity during a meeting with several members of SNSCI. She did not mention when the meeting was held and who were the officials who attended it.

Hashemi was found dead on January 7, 2017 in a pool in his house that he frequently used after having a sudden heart attack. He was buried in north Tehran next to Khomeini.

The same month, Faezeh Hashemi denied news reports about asking for autopsy, describing them as "rumors".

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Typhoon Gaemi Weakens to Tropical Storm as It Moves Inland Carrying Rain toward Central China

In this photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense, Taiwanese soldiers clear debris in the aftermath of Typhoon Gaemi in Kaohsiung county in southwestern Taiwan, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP)
In this photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense, Taiwanese soldiers clear debris in the aftermath of Typhoon Gaemi in Kaohsiung county in southwestern Taiwan, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP)
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Typhoon Gaemi Weakens to Tropical Storm as It Moves Inland Carrying Rain toward Central China

In this photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense, Taiwanese soldiers clear debris in the aftermath of Typhoon Gaemi in Kaohsiung county in southwestern Taiwan, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP)
In this photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense, Taiwanese soldiers clear debris in the aftermath of Typhoon Gaemi in Kaohsiung county in southwestern Taiwan, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP)

Tropical storm Gaemi brought rain to central China on Saturday as it moved inland after making landfall at typhoon strength on the country's east coast Thursday night.

The storm felled trees, flooded streets and damaged crops in China but there were no reports of casualties or major damage. Eight people died in Taiwan, which Gaemi crossed at typhoon strength before heading over open waters to China.

The worst loss of life, however, was in a country that Gaemi earlier passed by but didn't strike directly: the Philippines. A steadily climbing death toll has reached 34, authorities there said Friday. The typhoon exacerbated seasonal monsoon rains in the Southeast Asian country, causing landslides and severe flooding that stranded people on rooftops as waters rose around them.

China Gaemi weakened to a tropical storm since coming ashore Thursday evening in coastal Fujian province, but it is still expected to bring heavy rains in the coming days as it moves northwest to Jiangxi, Hubei and Henan provinces.

About 85 hectares (210 acres) of crops were damaged in Fujian province and economic losses were estimated at 11.5 million yuan ($1.6 million), according to Chinese media reports. More than 290,000 people were relocated because of the storm.

Elsewhere in China, several days of heavy rains this week in Gansu province left one dead and three missing in the country's northwest, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Taiwan Residents and business owners swept out mud and mopped up water Friday after serious flooding that sent cars and scooters floating down streets in parts of southern and central Taiwan. Some towns remained inundated with waist-deep water.

Eight people died, several of them struck by falling trees and one by a landslide hitting their house. More than 850 people were injured and one person was missing, the emergency operations center said.

Visiting hard-hit Kaohsiung in the south Friday, President Lai Ching-te commended the city's efforts to improve flood control since a 2009 typhoon that brought a similar amount of rain and killed 681 people, Taiwan's Central News Agency reported.

Lai announced that cash payments of $20,000 New Taiwan Dollars ($610) would be given to households in severely flooded areas.

A cargo ship sank off the coast near Kaohsiung Harbor during the typhoon, and the captain's body was later pulled from the water, the Central News Agency said. A handful of other ships were beached by the storm.

Philippines At least 34 people died in the Philippines, mostly because of flooding and landslides triggered by days of monsoon rains that intensified when the typhoon — called Carina in the Philippines — passed by the archipelago’s east coast.

The victims included 11 people in the Manila metro area, where widespread flooding trapped people on the roofs and upper floors of their houses, police said. Some drowned or were electrocuted in their flooded communities.

Earlier in the week, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered authorities to speed up efforts in delivering food and other aid to isolated rural villages, saying people may not have eaten for days.

The bodies of a pregnant woman and three children were dug out Wednesday after a landslide buried a shanty in the rural mountainside town of Agoncillo in Batangas province.