By Mark Heinrich
December,21

VIENNA (Reuters) -     Iran reaffirmed its determination to pursue a fully-fledged nuclear programme on Wednesday as the top three European powers reopened dialogue with Tehran over concerns that it is secretly trying to make atomic bombs.
 
Confrontation rather than compromise has been brewing after declarations from Iran that the Holocaust is a myth and     Israel should be wiped out, and a     European Union accusation on Tuesday that Tehran has systematically violated human rights at home.

Chicago Tribune,  December 20, 2005

BAGHDAD -- Iraq's ruling Shiite religious bloc has taken an overwhelming lead in last week's election and appears destined to retain a strong grip on the government, according to early vote results released Monday by the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq.

Sunni leaders expressed deep disappointment in the partial results from 11 of the 18 provinces and charged that there had been voter intimidation by the United Iraqi Alliance, the leading Shiite religious bloc that has ties with Iran.

December 20, 2005
Middle East Times
TEHRAN --  Iran has spelled out clearly that it will not back away from its bid to conduct sensitive nuclear fuel work, limiting the chance for a compromise at a key meeting on Wednesday with Britain, France and Germany.

For Iran, conducting fuel cycle work and enriching uranium to make reactor fuel is a "right" afforded to all signatories of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

 "Be certain that we will not back away one iota from our legitimate nuclear rights," Iran's hardline President Mahmud Ahmadinejad said last week.

Los Angeles Times

TEHRAN — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has barred all Western music from state radio and TV stations, partially reviving a ban imposed after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, when popular music was outlawed as un-Islamic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

In recent years it had become common to hear hip-hop blaring from car radios in Tehran's streets, and songs by Western pop stars such as Eric Clapton and the Eagles often accompanied Iranian broadcasts.