Iraqi powerful Shiite leader and head of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC) Abdul Aziz Hakim died of cancer Wednesday in Tehran, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, leader of Shi'ite religious political party Islamic Supreme

Council of Iraq (ISCI), waves to supporters during an election campaign rally in Baghdad in this January 29, 2009 file photo.[Xinhua]

Abdul Aziz Hakim had been under medical treatment for lung cancer for a long time. He was hospitalized in a Tehran hospital on Monday upon his physicians' advice, the report said.

Iran's Islamic Propaganda Coordination Council announced Wednesday that Iran will hold a funeral ceremony for Abdul Aziz Hakim on Thursday morning, according to IRNA.

The ceremony will start at 9:00 a.m. local time in front of Iraqi embassy in Tehran. After the ceremony, Hakim's body will be transferred to Iraq for official funerals in Baghdad and then in Najaf on Friday.

Seyyed Mohsen Hakim, the political advisor to Abdul Aziz Hakim told local Fars news agency on Wednesday that he died at 14:35 local time.

Hakim, 59, was diagnosed with lung cancer in May 2007 after medical tests in the United States, but he preferred to receive treatment in Iran. He made several trips to Iran for chemotherapy before being hospitalized.

As a prominent Shiite theologian and politician, he headed SIIC,the largest political party in the Iraqi parliament.

After the US-led invasion in 2003, Hakim became a member of the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council and served as its rotating presidency in December 2003.

In August 2003, he replaced his brother Mohammed Baqir al-Hakimas the leader of the SIIC Shiite party, then named the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq.

(Xinhua News Agency August 27, 2009)