USA Today reports: Amid increasingly negative rhetoric surrounding the U.S. nuclear deal with Iran, first lady Michelle Obama hosted a traditional Iranian new year’s feast Wednesday at the White House to celebrate diversity and inclusion.
“Right now when we are hearing such disturbing and hateful rhetoric, it is so important to remember that our diversity has been and will always be our greatest source of strength and pride here in the United States,” said Obama. “We think America is strongest when we recognize our many traditions, when we celebrate our diversity and when we lift each other up.”
Nowruz, a secular holiday widely celebrated in Iran, is also observed by Persian communities scattered around the Middle East and Asia. The Obamas first hosted Nowruz last year during negotiations over the Iran nuclear deal, in which the Tehran government agreed to halt efforts to build nuclear weapons in exchange for the dropping of economically crippling sanctions.
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