TEHRAN – In a message hours before Noruz, Iran’s national festive, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wished all Iranians across the world a happy New Year.

“Spring is the harbinger of renewal & hope for all. Happy Nowruz to fellow Iranians across the globe. May the New Year bring all peace & joy,” he tweeted on Monday.

March 21 marks the International Nowruz Day, proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly, in its resolution A/RES/64/253 of 2010, at the initiative of several countries that share this holiday (Afghanistan, Albania, Azerbaijan, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, India, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan.

Inscribed in 2009 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as a cultural tradition observed by numerous peoples, Noruz is an ancestral festivity marking the first day of spring and the renewal of nature.

It promotes values of peace and solidarity between generations and within families as well as reconciliation and neighborliness, thus contributing to cultural diversity and friendship among peoples and different communities.

 AK/AK