TEHRAN -- Senior officials from 20 countries including a number of presidents of the Persian-speaking states will be attending the ancient Persian New Year (Noruz) festivities in Iran.

The celebrations will be held from March 26 to March 28.
High-ranking officials from the countries that celebrate Noruz including Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Iraq, Albania, and Turkey have been invited to participate at the celebrations.
This is the second consecutive year that Noruz festivities are held in Iran as the International Day of Noruz was registered on the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on February 23, 2010.
Noruz, the ancient celebration of the Iranian New Year that begins on the first day of spring, is celebrated on March 21 by more than 300 million people worldwide.
It has been celebrated for over 3,000 years in Central Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and other regions.
Last year, Iraqi President Jalal Talebani, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, and Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov celebrated the New Year in Iran