Tehran, Mar 17 (IANS): Top Iranian cleric, Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Hashem Bathaie Golpayegani, a member of the Assembly of Experts which advises the country's Supreme leader, died of coronavirus on Monday, reports said.

Golpaygani was receiving treatment in Qom's Shahid Beheshti hospital, where he was admitted on Saturday, according to Iranian news agencies.

He is the latest top regime figure to die in Iran, the third-most affected country after China and Italy.

Rouhani mourned the death, saying it has "caused great grief and sorrow".

"This sophisticated cleric served as the representative of the people of Tehran to the Assembly of Experts and other political and cultural fields, leaving valuable services behind.

"I hereby express my condolences to the Assembly of Experts, his followers and his respectful family and ask the Almighty highest levels and rewards for him, being accompanied by his great progenitor, and patience and health for his family," said a message on the Iranian President's official web page.