Reyshahri was born into a religious family in Rey on 29 October 1946. He was educated in Qom and Najaf in the field of theology. He and his successor at the ministry of intelligence, Ali Fallahian, are alumni of the Haqqani School in Qom. He began to involve in political activities in June 1963 during the religious revolts after Khomeini’s famous speech in Qom.