The file photo shows Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei (R) shaking hands with senior Iranian cleric Ayatollah Mohammad-Taghi Mesbah Yazdi. (By leader.ir)

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has offered his condolences on the passing of senior Iranian cleric Ayatollah Mohammad-Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, a member of the Assembly of Experts.

In a message issued on Saturday, Ayatollah Khamenei hailed the late cleric as a prominent thinker, a competent manager, and an outspoken advocate of the truth with fortitude on the path of righteousness.

The demise of Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi is a loss to the Seminary in the holy of Qom and Islamic studies schools, the Leader said.

His services in generating religious thoughts, writing useful books, and training distinguished students, are effective while his revolutionary presence in all arenas ... is truly and justly unique, Ayatollah Khamenei emphasized, adding that the clergyman maintained piety throughout his life.

The Leader also described Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi as his old and dear brother, offering condolences to his family, students and admirers as well as the Qom Seminary.

The cleric, 85, passed away at a hospital in Tehran on Friday evening due to gastrointestinal disease.

He played a major role in the 1979 Islamic Revolution - led by late founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini - that overthrew the US-backed Pahlavi regime.

Following the Islamic Revolution, he first founded Baqir-ul-Uloom Institute and then Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute in Qom, which he headed for the rest of his life.

Also on Saturday, Iran’s Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raeisi released a message of condolence on the passing of Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi.

He said the late cleric was one of the pillars in the field of explaining and promoting the transcendent Islamic wisdom in the contemporary era.

Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, Raeisi noted, was a great master in mysticism and practical ethics, who used his knowledge to defend the Islamic Revolution.