Biden pays tribute to Iranian women at Nowruz celebration

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden used a White House event to mark the Persian New Year to pay tribute to Iranian women and girls who took to the streets of Iran to protest after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. She died last year after being arrested by Iran’s morality police for allegedly violating the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code. Biden, on Monday, vowed to keep pressure on Tehran. The White House reception for Nowruz celebrates a nearly 4,000-year-old tradition known as the Festival of Fire that’s linked to the Zoroastrian religion. Biden said he wished the holiday would be a moment of “hope for the women of Iran fighting for their human rights and fundamental freedoms.”