TEHRAN -- The only solution to Iran’s nuclear standoff is negotiation and the West cannot benefit from the current approach it has taken toward Tehran, Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani said here on Thursday.

“Those who sent Iran’s nuclear dossier to the (UN) Security Council in an adventurist move thought that they could shake our determination, but it is clear that this has not had any effect,” Larijani told reporters before seeing off Saudi Arabian National Security Council Secretary Bandar bin Sultan.

The Islamic Republic will continue cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and at the same time will carry on the consultations with other countries, Iran’s top nuclear negotiator said.

Hopefully, the Western powers will return to the negotiating table since Iran’s nuclear program is a legal and technical issue, he added.

He dismissed the talk of a U.S. strike as psychological warfare, adding that the Iranian armed forces are always prepared to confront any threat.

He went on to say that Iran and Saudi Arabia have excellent communication on regional issues.

“The two countries are making efforts to prevent the fomentation of sectarian strife in the region,” Larijani noted.

The Saudi official expressed hope that Iran’s nuclear case would be resolved peacefully.

Bin Sultan said that during his meeting with Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Thursday, he delivered Saudi Arabian King Abdullah’s message which was written in response to Larijani’s message to the monarch on January 14.

King Abdullah’s missive emphasized that the Islamic ummah should maintain unity to thwart enemy plots against the Islamic world, he added.