Tehran, Dec 25 -- Iranian Muslim nation is happy to wish all Christians a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

On the eve of the auspicious birthday of Jesus Christ (PBUH) when all Muslim and Christian believers extend best wishes to each other on the onset of the New Year, leaders of Christian states took an unacceptable action toward Iranians by passing a resolution against national nuclear program which surprised every individual in Iran.

Tehran, Dec 31 -- Iran's former president and expediency council chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on Sunday harshly criticized recent anti-Iran UN Security Council resolution and stressed that Iran's nuclear activities are peaceful.

Addressing large groups of worshipers at Tehran University campus on Eid Qurban (Feast of Sacrifice), Ayatollah Rafsanjani said Iran is ready to continue its peaceful nuclear activities under the international regulations.

The latest policies related to Article 44 of Iran’s Constitution are expected to boost the privatization of state-owned companies. This could serve as a perfect opportunity for officials to increase investments in state sectors as well as economic growth.

Apart from pursuing privatization, the government has decided to devise a legal framework to simultaneously address a host of key issues, including state monopoly, market regulation and competitiveness.

TEHRAN, Dec. 28 -- International affairs analyst Ali Khorram said here on Wednesday that UN Security Council members will not need a new resolution to increase their political and economic pressure on Iran in 2007.

The Security Council voted on Saturday to impose its first ever sanctions on Iran’s trade in nuclear materials and technology.

Archeologists surveying Shadiakh and ancient Neishabour Castle discovered the first lion and sun emblem at the ancient site, director of the castle’s research base said. As reported by ILNA, presenting a report on field excavations at local ancient sites, Rajabali Labbaf-Khaniki recalled that the castle built by the most skillful craftsmen of the time had caught fire due to unknown reasons following the Mogul invasion. Even the doors were burnt in fire, the official added.

“Archeologists discovered 10,000 nails and hinges at the site; many of them were ornamental and made of silver.“

TEHRAN, Dec. 23--An American academician said there is no chance the US will keep its military bases in Iraq for long and it will be forced to talk with Iran as the main regional power.

Nancy Gallagher, head of the Middle East Studies Group at the University of California, Berkeley, made the remark while talking to Fars News Agency's overseas reporter.

A Tehran resident bears the brunt of a heavy snowfall on Thursday.