This study provides a critical analysis of the metaphorical representation of the people in the inaugural speeches of two Iranian presidents, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005 and 2009) and Hassan Rouhani (2013 and 2017). The main objectives are to examine how the people are represented through conceptual metaphors, identify the source and target domains, and analyze the ideological, political, and legitimacy-enhancing functions of these metaphors in presidential discourse. The research applies a qualitative–quantitative approach to conceptual metaphor analysis based on Charteris-Black’s (2004) framework.

The corpus consists of four inaugural speeches, systematically coded to identify and categorize conceptual metaphors. Each metaphor was mapped from its source domain to its target domain, and frequencies and percentages were recorded.

Findings indicate notable differences between the two presidents. In Ahmadinejad’s speeches, the people are predominantly represented as a body, a shield/warrior, or a child, emphasizing national cohesion, collective resistance, and moral-spiritual guidance (32% and 30% for body and shield/warrior metaphors, respectively). Minor metaphors present the people as rational or wise, highlighting education and ethical development. In contrast, Rouhani represents the people as active decision-makers, engines of transformation, beneficiaries of social rights, and connectors of trust and national identity (15% for active decision-maker metaphors).