Mourners gather during the funeral of former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in Tehran, Iran. Tasnim News Agency/Handout via REUTERS
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Iran's Revolutionary Guards look set to entrench their power and shift the country to more hardline, isolationist policies for years to come following the death of influential powerbroker Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
Former president Rafsanjani long had a contentious relationship with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which is both the strongest military force in Iran and also has vast economic interests worth billions of dollars.
