Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei welcomed the Iranian New Year as one of "production, support, and the removal of barriers" in a live televised speech, Saturday.
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"There is good ground for a production leap," Khamenei said, adding the government needed to get rid of any legal obstacles to higher output and growth as the economy continues to suffer under US sanctions.
The army fired gun salutes at Tehran's Azadi Square to usher in Nowruz - New Day in Persian and the most important date in the Iranian calendar, marked at the spring equinox and the beginning of the year 1,400. The holiday is celebrated in a dozen countries stretching from the Caucasus to Central Asia.
In Washington, US President Joe Biden issued a Nowruz message calling for peace, prosperity, and understanding.
"That is the message and the joy of Nowruz that we are honoring ... This year, perhaps more than ever, that message is badly needed," Biden said in a White House statement.
Biden's administration is exploring ways to restore the 2015 nuclear deal that Iran signed with major world powers, but which was abandoned by his predecessor Donald Trump in 2018.
The United States and the other Western signatories to the 2015 deal appear to be at an impasse over which side should return to the accord first, making it unlikely US sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy can be quickly removed.
In a separate message, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said he was hopeful the new year would bring the end of the sanctions.
"We will defeat the sanctions ... . I am more hopeful than [I was] eight years ago", Rouhani said, referring to when he first entered office.
Rouhani is barred from running for a third term, and the slate of presidential candidates has yet to be finalized.
Iran's hardliners say US sanctions are proof Rouhani's policy of reaching out to the country's enemies has failed. A delay in progress on returning to the nuclear deal could hurt the chances of a moderate succeeding Rouhani, although the final decision on any diplomatic initiative would be taken by Khamenei rather than the elected president.
Khamenei said on Saturday that the June election would likely bring to office "new managers who most probably will be energetic and strongly motivated."
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