The ‘supreme’ leader and spiritual leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, called the primary goal of the Persian New Year to increase the pace of production through the massive involvement of the country's residents. 

He stated this in an address to the nation on the occasion of Nowruz, the new year of 1403, according to the Iranian solar calendar (Hijri).

"If we want to leap in production...we must pave the way for people to participate in it truly. That is why I have declared this year the 'Year of Explosive Growth in Production through People's Involvement’," Khamenei said in a statement published on his official website.

The most tragic events of the past year, according to the Iranian calendar, were cited by the leader of the Islamic Republic as the exacerbation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip, the terrorist attack in the Iranian city of Kerman, which claimed the lives of 95 people, as well as floods in the province of Sistan and Baluchistan.

Last year, one of Iran's main priorities was its fight against inflation. 

As President of the Islamic Republic Ebrahim Raisi said in his address on the occasion of Nowruz, the inflation rate in the country decreased by 20 percentage points over the year, from 55% in February 2023 to 35% in February 2024.

Nowruz is one of the oldest holidays in the world. Its history goes back more than 3,000 years and it is celebrated around the world. The holiday falls on the vernal equinox, March 21. 2024 is a leap year, so the Iranian New Year came a day earlier on March 20. 

Nowruz is celebrated not only by Iranians but also by all Persian-speaking and most Turkic-speaking peoples; it is also included in the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage.

During Nowruz, long weekends are declared in Iran, houses are decorated in cities and villages, and mass celebrations occur. 

The main symbol is the festive table "haft sin." Traditionally it is garnished with garlic, apples, vinegar, sumac (an Iranian spice), a coin, wheat sprouts and adobe, a sweet pudding-like dish. On the table, there is also the Koran and works of Persian writers – the Shahnameh poem by Ferdowsi or a volume of poems by Hafiz Shirazi.