Iran's president to give alternative Xmas address

Iran's president to give alternative Xmas address

British broadcaster Channel Four says it has invited Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to deliver a Christmas message on television this year as an alternative to Queen Elizabeth II's annual address. The channel says it picked Ahmadinejad because relations between Iran and the West were likely to be a key global issue in 2009. Channel Four's head of news and current affairs, Dorothy Byrne, said the station wanted to offer viewers "an insight into an alternative world view". Channel Four has invited a high-profile figure to present an alternative Christmas message every year since 1993. Relations between Britain and Iran are strained, particularly over Iran's disputed nuclear programme, which Ahmedinejad vehemently defends.