-- our incredible first lady milani a. she has worked hard to make the white house a special place for this joyous season. we have done this so many evenings and i think we set a record two nights ago, we shook hands for three hours and 25 minutes. that was not fun, even though i love the people. i am also proud that my beautiful grandchildren have joined us tonight. [applause] right here as we celebrate with all of you the sacred traditions that they observe each year at home. this evening we gather to celebrate the story that is told in jewish homes across the country and all over the world, a story that began more than .000 years ago a tyrant made practicing the byish faith punishable death. he desecrated the jewish temple and including the holy of holies. a small band of jewish patriots rose up and defeated a mighty army and soon reclaimed their freedom. maccabees did the not end there as they prepared to rededicate the temple, they found only enough oil to light the lamp for a single night. to findl were stunned that

a very, merry christmas. president donald trump and first lady milani at tweeted a christmas day greeting monday morning. >> inme with families, renew the bonds of love and goodwill between our citizens. >> reporter: hours later, the president posted i hope everyone is having a great christmas. then tomorrow come back to work in order to make america great again. the holiday messages came a day after he took credit on social media for bringing back the expression, merry christmas. writing i am proud to have led the charge against the assault of our cherished and beautiful phrase. in fact, all recent presidents use the phrase. >> merry christmas to you. >> reporter: the president spent christmas eve attacking the fbi deputy director who had a major role in the hillary clinton email investigation. he believes he was biased in clinton's favor because his wife, a democrat received a large contribution from a clinton ally when she ran for office in 2015. the president tweeted his wife got the money from a clinton puppet and accused mccabe of using allegedly his fbi official email account to promote the campaign. he

a sign the authorities may already be turning the screw. wyre davies, bbc news. i'm joined now by professor mohsen milanisouth florida — an expert on iranian politics. thank you forjoining us on a bbc news. we are at day three, what seems striking is that there is no coherence to the slogans being shouted or any identifiable group. how do you see it, professor? the movement started as an inter— elite protest. it was one faction trying to undermine president rohani and undermine opening up his efforts to open up to the west. gradually the movement spread to other cities and became more political and it seems to me, right now, nobody is in control of the protest movement. i think this movement is a reflection of the widely spread economic discontent about the economic conditions and unlike what hassan rouhani has promise, the iranian nuclear deal has not given improved conditions for the people. the movement does not seem to have a leader, does not seem to have a very specific agenda in mind. but still it is very important to remember that so far the islamic revolutionary guards have not intervened in the