Khamenei urges Iran to stand up to sanctions

Iran began the Persian New Year on Wednesday with its most senior leader asking the people to stand up to piling Western economic sanctions and also warning that the pressure was unlikely to ease. If Iranians show more "readiness" to face Western pressure, the next 12 months will be a "political and economic epoch" for the country, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a recorded message on state television. The year will be filled with "development, activity and dexterity," Khamenei vowed in the message aired shortly after Iranians celebrated the Persian New Year, or Nowruz, marking the transition of winter to spring. But, he warned, "it does not mean that the enmity of enemies will subside," alluding to Western opposition to Iran's nuclear programme and harsh sanctions against the economy of the Islamic republic. Western powers and Israel suspect Iran's atomic activities have military objectives, despite repeated denials.