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Rafsanjani's Impact

The former Iranian president who died Sunday was viewed as a reformer in a country where conservatives have held political sway since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Source: Raheb Homavandi / Reuters

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the former Iranian president who died Sunday at the age of 82, was viewed as a consummate political insider and reformer in a country where conservatives have held sway since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Although he was a longtime ally of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder

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