SPEAKING OF THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS:

Rouhani on Monday retweeted Iran's conservative supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, after he praised Jesus Christ in a tweet on Christmas Eve.

Jesus #Christ, the Son of #Mary, was a herald of God's grace, blessing &guidance for man. 1/12/1987

-- khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) December 24, 2013

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who was responsible for negotiating the interim deal Iran reached with the United States and its allies, also tweeted about Christmas.

May the spirit of Christmas bring joy, peace, empathy and compassion to everyone throughout the coming year. Merry Christmas.

-- Javad Zarif (@JZarif) December 24, 2013 [...] 

The Obama administration hopes to strike a final deal if Iran satisfies the first agreement's requirements. President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry have both acknowledged an effort to shut down Iran's program entirely could never be on the table.

Rouhani reiterated that position in a tweet Monday.

We'll never give up our right to #nuclear energy. But we're working towards removing all doubts and answer all reasonable questions.

-- Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) December 23, 2013

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