In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
I received the news of the demise of Hujjat-ul Islam wal Muslimeen Hajj Sheikh Abbas Vaez Tabasi (r.a.)- a mujahid scholar and a sincere comrade of the Revolution- with sadness and regret. He was a sympathetic and understanding brother to me, a sincere companion to our late Imam (r.a.) and a steadfast and diligent servant to the Revolution.
Since the appearance of the first rays of the Islamic movement, the holy city of Mashhad was witness to the courageous and influential presence of this honorable cleric in dangerous arenas and to his acceptance of the difficulties involved. This explicit and genuine presence continued until the last days of the Iranian nation’s revolutionary activities.
After the Revolution, our magnanimous Imam’s (r.a.) trust in him brought him the honor of achieving towliat [guarding and protecting a holy place] and serving the blessed Razavi (thousands of greetings and peace be upon him) shrine. With his firm willpower and determination, unprecedented services were rendered to this holy shrine and thus, we hope that this sincere servant will benefit from the attention of that Hazrat.
Having a revolutionary position, being loyal to the ideals of the Islamic Republic and performing jihad on this difficult path without any hypocrisy are the other chapters of this eminent clergy’s life. With his demise, I have lost a kind brother and comrade-in-arms and who was a friend to me in times of loneliness and difficulty in the pre-revolutionary era and a diligent colleague in the years following the Revolution.
I ask Allah the Beneficent to bestow on him a due reward and His forgiveness and paradise.
I would like to express my condolences to his esteemed family and relatives– in particular to his patient and wise spouse and his honorable children– and I ask God to bestow patience and rewards on them.
Sayyid Ali Khamenei