Persian News Year 2017: Trump Wishes Everyone A Happy Nowruz

President Donald Trump followed the tradition of former President Barack Obama Wednesday by wishing everyone celebrating Persian New Year, known as Nowruz, “freedom, dignity, and wealth” in the upcoming year. Obama issued an annual address to mark Nowruz and send his greetings to the millions of people of Iranian, Iraqi, Turkish, South Asian, and Central Asian heritage participating in the festivities in the U.S. and abroad.

The six-day holiday between March 18 and 24, is widely known for the ritual of participants jumping over bonfires as a symbol of “rebirth, rejuvenation and reconciliation" for the New Year and the arrival of springtime.

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Four days after the start of this year's celebration, the White House issued a statement acknowledging Trump’s deep appreciation for the contributions made by Iranian-Americans, calling them the “one of the most successful immigrant group’s” in contemporary American history.

“[Nowruz] is an occasion to celebrate new beginnings, a sentiment that is particularly meaningful for so many Iranians who have come to our country in recent decades to make a new start in a free land,” the statement reads.

The Trump administration had taken a firm stance against Iran and its citizens in recent months. Despite the Tuesday announcement that the U.S. would adhere to the nuclear deal established between the two countries under Obama, Trump called the agreement “the worst deal I’ve ever seen negotiated” during his presidential campaign and accused the Islamic Republic of “disrespecting” the U.S. because of it.

Trump also issued executive orders banning Iranian citizens from traveling to the U.S., which were subsequently struck down by federal courts for discriminating against Muslims. Iran's population is over 99 percent Muslim.

The president faced intense scrutiny from the Muslim community this week for welcoming Brigitte Gabriel, a prominent pro-Israel and anti-Muslim activist, to the White House. Gabriel, who founded Act for America, which the Southern Poverty Law Center called “the largest grassroots anti-Muslim group in America,” has written several books denouncing the Islamic religion. In her 2008 book "They Must Be Stopped," Gabriel wrote, "It's not radical Islam. It's what Islam is at its core."

There is about 1 million Iranians living in the U.S. in 2009, an estimated 72,000 live in the Los Angeles area, causing some locals to refer to the city as "Tehrangeles," in reference to the Iranian capital of Tehran. About 40 percent of the students at Beverly Hills High School are reported to be of Iranian descent.