World Shia Leader has extended his condolences to the Iraqi government and nation over the passing of Shia political figure Abdulaziz Hakim.

In a statement released on Thursday, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei expressed his ‘great sorrow’ over the passing of the head of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council.

“I express my great sorrow over this tragic loss and extend my sincere condolences to the Iraqi nation, government, the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council and his family.”

Describing Hakim as the scion of a revered clerical family, Ayatollah Khamenei praised the top Shia figure’s contributions to the establishment of a national government in Iraq.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, head of Iran’s Expediency Council Mr. Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani,, Parliament (Majlis) Speaker Ali Larijani and senior clerics Ayatollah Nasser Makarem-Shirazi and Ayatollah Lotfollah Safi-Golpaygani also offered their condolences over his passing.

Abdulaziz Hakim died of lung cancer at the age 60 in a hospital in Tehran on Wednesday.

The top Shia political figure, who headed Iraq’s most powerful party, was hospitalized in an advanced medical faculty in Tehran last month.

He had been diagnosed with lung cancer in the United States. Following the diagnosis, he made several trips to Iran for chemotherapy before being hospitalized.