Nowruz Celebrations open in Iran

The second International Nowruz Celebrations have officially opened in Tehran in the presence of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iranian news agency Press TV reports.

The presidents of Afghanistan, Iraq, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Armenia - Hamid Karzai, Jalal Talabani, Gurbanguly Berdimuhammadov, Emomali Rahmon and Serzh Sargsyan - took part in the opening ceremony of the event at Tehran's Sa'adabad Palace on Sunday.

Indian Health Minister Omani, Foreign Minister Youssef bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Pakistani Speaker of the National Assembly Fahmida Mirza, the Kyrgyz minister of culture, the vice president of Zanzibar, the Kuwaiti special envoy and Secretary General of Economic Cooperation Organization Mohammad Yahya Maroofi are also participating in the event.

Nowruz, which coincides with the first day of spring on the solar calendar, is mostly celebrated in Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, India, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan.