IRNA � President of Chile Michelle Bachelet in a message to President Hassan Rouhani extended her condolences on the sad demise of Chairman of the Expediency Council Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

In the message released on Thursday evening, the Chilean president expressed regret for the departure of the late Ayatollah who passed away on January 8 in a Tehran hospital due to a heart attack at the age of 82.

She expressed deep sorrow for the departure Ayatollah Rafsanjani who was one of the co-founders of Iran's Islamic Republic and also the country's president from 1989-1997.

President Bachelet condoled her Iranian counterpart and the Iranian people on behalf of the Chilean people.

The late ayatollah's demise stood at the top of world news with messages of condolences by world leaders and international figures starting to pour into the country.