President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden used a White House event to mark Persian New Year on Monday to pay tribute to Iranian women and girls who took to the streets of Iran to protest following the death last year of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini and vowed to keep pressure on Tehran. Biden speaking at reception to mark the Persian New Year, a nearly 4,000-year-old tradition known as the Festival of Fire that’s linked to the Zoroastrian religion, said he wished the holiday marked a moment of “hope for the women of Iran fighting for their human rights and fundamental freedoms.” “The United States stands with those brave women and all the citizens of Iran who are inspiring the world with their conviction,” Biden said at the event, which he described as the biggest White House Nowruz celebration to date. “We’re going to continue to hold Iranian officials accountable for their attacks against their people.” The United States, Europe and the United Kingdom hae imposed a series of fresh sanctions on dozens of Iranian officials and organizations, including the country’s special military and police forces, for their violent clampdown. The protests began in mid-September when 22-year-old Amini died after being arrested by Iran’s morality police for allegedly violating the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code. Biden also used the occasion to hail the release of an American aid worker held by Islamic extremists in West Africa. Jeffery Woodke was kidnapped from his home at gunpoint in Niger in October 2016. BIden said Woodke will "soon be returned to his wife and family and we'll continue our work to bring home all Americans held hostage or unjustly detained."