Iran's ex-President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a dominant figure in the country's politics since the 1980s, has died at the age of 82, reports BBC quoting various media. Mr Rafsanjani had suffered a heart attack, the reports said.
He served as president from 1989 to 1997 but lost to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when he ran again in 2005.
Although Mr Rafsanjani was part of the religious establishment, he was regarded as a "pragmatic conservative" open to improving ties to the West.
His final role was head of the Expediency Council, which tries to resolve disputes between parliament and the Guardian Council, but his power had now waned.