Khamenei Responds to Obama's Nowrooz Overture

The Nowrooz ("New Day") message President Obama directed to Iran for the Persian New Year has not been shown on IRINN or IRIB. Many international broadcasters and outlets are waiting to see whether or not IRIB or IRINN will show Obama's message. It seems that it will not be shown. Instead Iranians in Iran will have to look up the message online or on Persian-language satellite programming from abroad, as The Washington Post reported:

Iranian woman Marzieh Masaebi watches a TV video showing US President Barack Obama's new video message addressed to the Iranian people, and broadcast from the Tapesh Farsi-language satellite TV beamed in from the United States, at her home in Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 20, 2009. Obama released the video to coincide with the major Iranian festival of Nowruz, a 12-day holiday that marks the arrival of spring and the beginning of the new year in Iran. Iran authorities played down Obama's video message saying it welcomed the overtures while warning that decades of mistrust can't easily be erased. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) (Vahid Salemi - AP)

Today, however, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei responded to Obama's message. IRINN reported that thousands of people gathered in Mashaad, Iran today to listen to Khamenei. The Iranian leader said that U.S. policy towards Iran has remained the same as it has been in the last 30 years and "as long as these policies do not change, then Iran will not change its policies." IRIB reported Khamenei as saying: "Has your enmity with the Iranian nation ended? Have you released the Iranian assets or cut the sanctions? Have you quit negative propaganda against Iran? Have you ended your absolute support to the Zionist regime?" 

So far, CNN, BBC, and other sources have reported on the Iranian response, citing the upcoming elections in Iran as an important element effecting rhetoric.