Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei welcomed the Persian New Year, predicting in a live televised speech on March 20 that it will be one of "production, support, and removal of barriers."
"There is good ground for a production leap," Ayatollah Khamenei said, adding that the government needs to get rid of legal obstacles to higher output and growth as the economy suffers under U.S. sanctions.
Ayatollah Khamenei also said the election in June, which will choose a successor to President Hassan Rohani, makes the new year "important and sensitive."
The election will likely bring to office "new managers who most probably will be energetic and strongly motivated,” he said.
In his Nowruz message, Rohani said he was hopeful the new year will see the end of the sanctions.
“We will defeat the sanctions...I am more hopeful than eight years ago,” Rohani said, referring to when he was elected for his first term.
He also said the past year was "the worst in 60 years in terms of oil revenues," but he promised improvements, saying the economy is bouncing back.
He also pledged that the new year will see “wide access” to COVID vaccines and the pandemic being brought under control.