TEHRAN – Ahmad Tavakoli, a member of the Expediency Discernment Council and longtime member of Iran’s political establishment, has passed away at the age of 74.

Tavakoli had been suffering from Parkinson’s disease for several years and was hospitalized in recent days after suffering a severe heart attack. He died on Tuesday, July 23, 2025.

Born in 1951 in the city of Behshahr, Tavakoli played a significant role in the country’s political developments over the past four decades. He first entered the Iranian Parliament as a representative of Behshahr, and later served three consecutive terms representing Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat, and Eslamshahr.

During his parliamentary tenure, Tavakoli also served as head of the Parliamentary Research Center, leading the body’s legislative studies and policy assessments from the beginning of the seventh parliament until partway through the ninth.

His government experience included serving as spokesperson for Prime Minister Mohammad Ali Rajaei’s cabinet and briefly as Minister of Labor in the first administration of Mir-Hossein Mousavi—though he stepped down before the cabinet won a vote of confidence.

Tavakoli twice ran for president, finishing second in the 1993 and 2001 elections.