On March 20, Iranians bid farewell to 1395 on the Iranian calendar, celebrating the arrival of a new year. In keeping with tradition, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani have both issued video messages to mark the occasion of Nowruz.

In his video message, the supreme leader usually congratulates the Iranian people on Nowruz and "names" the new year, in a move to emphasize the broader policy priorities of the establishment. The video message is usually followed by a public speech in the holy city of Mashhad on the first day of the new Iranian year, which this year falls on March 21.

A year ago, Ayatollah Khamenei named 1395, the Iranian year that is about to end, “the Year of the Economy of Resistance: Action and Implementation,” and asked the government to help and support domestic producers instead of importing goods from other countries. In this vein, before the arrival of Nowruz, Rouhani announced that his government had been successful and victorious in implementing the “resistance economy,” which refers to a series of measures to make Iran more resilient and less sensitive to external shocks such as sanctions.

In this year’s Nowruz message, the supreme leader named 1396 the “Year of the Economy of Resistance: Production and Employment,” expressing hope that it will be “accompanied by security and welfare.”