When Mazandaran’s Women Showered Rafsanjani with Rice and Wildflowers

According to Saed News, rare archival images have emerged showing late Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani being warmly greeted by women in a remote village in Mazandaran, a lush province along the southern Caspian Sea coast. The scenes depict villagers welcoming Rafsanjani’s motorcade with traditional rituals—tossing handfuls of rice and offering vibrant wildflowers harvested from nearby meadows.

The images, which have recently gone viral in Iranian media, date back to an official visit by Rafsanjani during his presidency or post-presidential years. In the photographs, elderly and young village women are seen lining the roadside, smiling as they engage in one of the region’s most heartfelt gestures of honor: showering distinguished guests with rice, a symbol of prosperity and respect.

The moment reflects a bygone era of Iranian politics where local traditions and national leadership intersected with warmth and ceremony. Rafsanjani, often viewed as a pragmatic and influential statesman, was known for bridging rural and urban divides, and this spontaneous display of affection by local women offers a softer image of his enduring legacy.

While the political legacy of Rafsanjani remains complex, moments such as this one continue to resonate with Iranians nostalgic for a more personable and grounded form of governance—one that walked among the people and received wildflowers in return.