Former Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani died today, state TV reported. He was 82. He had suffered a heart attack, the reports said. Rafsanjani was a dominant figure in the country's politics since the 1980s. <br/><br/>He served as president from 1989 to 1997 but lost to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when he ran again in 2005. <br/><br/>It is reported that Mr Rafsanjani, although, was a part of the religious establishment, he was regarded as a "pragmatic conservative" open to improving ties to the West.