Senior Iranian Cleric Dies at 81

Ayatollah Momen passed away at the age of 81 in a hospital in the capital Tehran on Thursday after spending the past two months battling with brain hemorrhage and respiratory problems.

An influential member of the Guardian Council, he was first appointed to the position by late founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini in 1984 and continued to serve in that capacity after Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei extended his assignment in 2014.

The late cleric also served as a member of the Assembly of Experts after being elected during all of the governmental body’s five elections so far. He also served as the deputy head of the council from 2008 to 2011.

Before attaining Ijtihad (juristic reasoning), he was a pupil of such prominent Islamic scholars as Imam Khomeini, Allameh Tabatabai, Ayatollah Meshkini and many others in the Qom Seminary.

Ayatollah Momen had a long record of struggle against tyranny of the US-backed Pahlavi regime before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Concerned by the effectiveness of his attempts, the Pahlavi regime sent Ayatollah Momen and over 20 other scholars into exile for many years.

The cleric also served as the head of the Qom Seminary and was a member of other important organizations, including the Constitution Review Council, the Supreme Judiciary Council and the Supreme Policy-making Council of the Qom Seminary, among others.