Ahmadinejad Christmas speech annoys U.K. government

The British government has rebuked Channel 4 for airing President Ahmadinejad’s message on Christmas Day. But one has to wonder why when the tone of his address was so innocuous? Or maybe they took offence at the propaganda points he scored?

The British government has rebuked broadcaster Channel 4 for airing a Christmas message from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose previous dismissal of the Holocaust and refusal to abandon the pursuit of a nuclear capability have caused international dismay.

Channel 4 invited Ahmadinejad to deliver its annual "alternative Christmas message," which was broadcast on Christmas Day. In a break with tradition, however, the network did not schedule his address at the same time as the queen delivered her own annual Christmas message.

A spokesman for the British foreign office said the invitation would likely cause "offense and bemusement" and that the broadcast's negative impact would be felt on an international scale.

"President Ahmadinejad has during his time in office made a series of appalling anti-Semitic statements," a spokeswoman said.

"The British media are rightly free to make their own editorial choices, but this invitation will cause offense and bemusement not just at home but amongst friendly countries abroad."

Ahmadinejad used the platform to call on Britons to direct themselves to the messages of the prophets, and he blamed the complex problems the world is facing on "the indifference of some governments and powers toward the teachings of the divine prophets, especially those of Jesus Christ."

In what some have read as an attack on the U.S., he added: "If Christ were on Earth today, undoubtedly he would fight against the tyrannical policies of prevailing global economic and political systems, as he did in his lifetime."

Channel 4 head of news Dorothy Byrne defended the broadcast, saying the Iranian premier's views were important.

"As the leader of one of the most powerful states in the Middle East, President Ahmadinejad's views are enormously influential. As we approach a critical time in international relations, we are offering our viewers an insight into an alternative world view."

Source: thetruthseeker.co.uk

Iran stops selling oil in U.S. dollars

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran has completely stopped selling any of its oil for U.S. dollars, an Iranian news agency reported on Saturday, citing the oil minister of the world's fourth-largest crude producer.

The ISNA news agency did not give a direct quote from Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari. A senior oil official last month said "nearly all" of Iran's crude oil sales were now being paid for in non-U.S. currencies.

For nearly two years, OPEC's second biggest producer has been reducing its exposure to the dollar, saying the weak U.S. currency is eroding its purchasing power.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who often rails against the West, has called the U.S. currency a "worthless piece of paper."

Foes since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, Tehran and Washington are also at odds over Tehran's disputed nuclear programme as well as over policy in Iraq.

"In line with the policy of selling crude oil in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, currently the sale of our country's oil in U.S. dollars has been completely eliminated," ISNA reported after talking with Nozari.

Nozari told ISNA: "In regards to the decrease in the dollar's value and the loss exporters of crude oil have endured from this trend, the dollar is no longer a reliable currency."

"This is why, at the meeting of the heads of states, Iran proposed to OPEC members that a currency (for oil exports) would be determined that would be reliable and would not cause any loss to exporter countries," he said.

At a November summit of Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries heads of state, Iran suggested oil should be sold in a basket of currencies rather than dollars, but failed to win over other members except Venezuela.

Ahmadinejad and his Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo Chavez, are vocal critics of U.S. influence in the world.

Hojjatollah Ghanimifard, international affairs director of the state owned National Iranian Oil Company, last month told Reuters that most of Iran's oil export earnings were in euros, with some in yen.