TEHRAN, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- A high-ranking Iranian official says the West has taken the wrong approach in trying to exert leverage over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
Saeed Jalil, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, said in a statement in Tehran Saturday that pressure applied by the so-called P5-plus-1 group had only exacerbated tensions.
Jalil said there was no disputing Iran's right to develop nuclear energy and that the standoff with the West was actually encouraging what he called terrorism. Jalil said the public release of the names of Iranian nuclear scientists had led to the killing of one of their number.
Iran's government-backed Press TV reported Saturday Jalil referred to the death of Majid Shahriari, who was killed by a car bomb in Tehran Monday.
"Terror is a sign of the pressure strategy's failure," Jalil said. "The assassination of Dr. Majid Shahriari on the one hand cancels out the pressure strategy and on the other strongly supports the legitimate right of the Iranian people and the values of the Islamic Revolution."
Jalil added that the Islamic Republic was still ready and willing to sit down with the P5-plus-1 group to discuss a defusing of the situation.
