AMANPOUR: And finally tonight, we imagine Iran paying tribute to one of the founders of the Islamic revolution as they gather to bury him. Hundreds of thousands poured out for the funeral of President Rafsanjani, who died of a heart attack on Sunday age 82. Having become an important reformer and pragmatist, he backed President Khatami in 1997 and tried to run for a third term himself in 2005, by which time he was urging detente with the Great Satan, as they called the United States, making big news in this exclusive interview in Tehran.</s>AMANPOUR: The election is on Friday. If you become the winner -- this is our last question. What is the first thing that you will do?</s>AKBAR HASHEMI RAFSANJANI, IRANIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (through translator): When I become the president, the first thing that I will do is to form the cabinet and in Iran, I can work with the conservatives and also reformers, because both groups are the supporters for my candidacy. And with respect to the outside world, as I demonstrated in my previous tenure as a president, I have -- I am going for a policy of relaxation of tension and detente. And this is a policy that I will apply toward the United States, as well. And if Americans are sincere in the cooperation and working with Iran, I think the time is right to open new chapter in our relations with the United States.</s>AMANPOUR: It turns out, he was a prophet a decade ahead of his time, because Rafsanjani lost to Ahmadinejad ushering eight years of dangerous antagonism with the West until Rafsanjani backed the election of the moderate Hassan Rouhani and helped marshal support for the Iran-U.S. nuclear deal. Rouhani is up for re-election this spring and the moderates have lost an important voice with the death of Rafsanjani. That's it for our program tonight. Remember, you can always listen to our podcast, see us online @Amanpour.com and follow me on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks for watching and goodbye from New York.
Soul of the Revolution, Modern-Day Reformer.