Khamenei Ignores Nowruz Symbols in New Year Speech
Ali Khamenei displayed no symbols of Nowruz in his New Year’s message and completely ignored the ancient Persian celebration.
He has followed this pattern in past years, but this year, the lack of Nowruz symbols was more noticeable than before.
While many officials mentioned Nowruz in their messages, the Supreme Leader made sure his speech included no Nowruz symbols at all.
In the room where Khamenei’s Nowruz message was recorded, there wasn’t even a single flower branch to signify the arrival of spring.
Khamenei’s complete rejection of Nowruz symbols could have several reasons.
The primary factor is his emphasis on religious and revolutionary aspects. Nowruz is an ancient Persian celebration with pre-Islamic roots, and despite its deep significance for the Iranian people, it holds no place in the Supreme Leader’s priorities.
In his Nowruz speeches, he completely ignores this national tradition, focusing instead on political, economic, and social issues while repeating his religious and political rhetoric.
Although the government officially recognizes Nowruz with holidays, traditional religious views - especially Khamenei’s rejection of Iranian history - give it no importance.
This rejection of Nowruz symbols aligns with the Islamic Republic’s broader policy of distinguishing itself from previous governments, especially the Pahlavi era.
The Pahlavi government heavily emphasized Nowruz and its traditions, using the celebration as a symbol of Iranian nationalism.
The Islamic Republic, with its strong emphasis on Islamic identity since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, has shown no interest in highlighting this pre-Islamic heritage at the highest governmental level.
Ruhollah Khomeini followed the same approach.
However, Nowruz remains one of Iran’s most important celebrations, with various government officials acknowledging it in their messages.
This year, most ministers in Masoud Pezeshkian’s government delivered their Nowruz video messages alongside traditional Haft-Sin tables.