Iran’s “president” may sound like a madman, but today’s statement from the mullahs shows that they have a firm grasp on reality.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran shrugged off mounting world pressures over its nuclear program on Friday, giving no hint it was ready to halt sensitive atomic work to enable next week’s talks on a Russian compromise to make progress.

“Nuclear technology is our red line and we will never abandon our legitimate right to this technology,” Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, who heads Iran’s top legislative watchdog, told worshippers at Friday prayers in Tehran.

“They (the West) are trying to terrify us with a scarecrow called the Security Council. We are not scared … They will be harmed more than Iran if they act unwisely,” he said.