Rafsanjani in the Saddle: Unveiling the Cleric’s Unseen Equestrian Prowess

According to Saed News, an unpublished image of Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani—who served two terms as Iran’s president and later chaired the Expediency Discernment Council—has surfaced, revealing him astride a steed while clad in simple clerical robes. The portrait, dated to an unspecified moment during the Islamic Republic’s formative decades, underscores a facet of Rafsanjani’s persona often overshadowed by his political labours: a robust, outdoorsman’s constitution.

Rafsanjani, born in 1313 SH (1934 CE), was instrumental in the anti‑Pahlavi movement and survived multiple arrests before the 1979 revolution. In the years that followed, he held myriad posts—from head of the Parliament and interim Friday Imam of Tehran to commander of the wartime National Defence Council. Yet the equestrian scene evokes a rarer image: that of a cleric whose physical stamina mirrored his political endurance.

Analysts argue that such moments off‑script helped cultivate Rafsanjani’s reformist appeal. In a polity often defined by austere clericalism, his willingness to embrace traditionally aristocratic pastimes—horse riding, falconry and leisurely retreats—lent him an aura of approachability. As Iran’s leadership today grapples with questions of legitimacy and popular trust, this fresh glimpse of Rafsanjani invites reflection on the performative dimensions of authority and the enduring power of modest personal gestures.