Amid increasingly negative rhetoric surrounding the US nuclear deal with Iran, first lady Michelle Obama hosted a traditional Iranian new year’s feast at the White House to celebrate diversity and inclusion, USA Today reported on its website.

"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," she added.

Iranian-American comedian Maz Jobrani introduced Obama and called it the "highlight of a lifetime."

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.

Source: MENA