Political survival of Iran's Rafsanjani in doubt after children jailed
The political future of former Iranian president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani is uncertain after the regime jails two of his children
The future of one of Iran's great political survivors, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, has been called into question after two of his children were taken to prison within three days of each other.
The son and daughter of the former Iranian president have been taken to Tehran's Evin Prison and face separate anti-state allegations.
Such a degree of pressure on a former president is unprecedented in the history of the Islamic republic. Rafsanjani is believed to have played an instrumental role in the appointment of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the supreme leader after the death in 1989 of the Islamic revolution's founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Rafsanjani's son, Mehdi Hashemi, was detained on Monday after returning to Iran from a self-imposed exile and spending three years studying in Britain.
Local media reported he was summoned for questioning a day after arriving back in Tehran and was later taken into custody after a warrant for his arrest was issued.
He is believed to be held on accusations of having links to Iran's opposition Green Movement and the popular unrest in the aftermath of the 2009 disputed presidential election.
Rafsanjani's daughter, Faezeh Hashemi, a political activist and former Iranian MP, was taken to Evin on Saturday to serve a six-month prison term after being found guilty of "spreading propaganda against the regime".