TOKYO - Mounting pressure on Iran to abandon its nuclear program is creating another crisis in the Middle East, former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said Friday.

Former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami delivers a speech at the U.N. University in Tokyo Friday, Aug. 25, 2006. Khatami told that mounting pressure on Iran to abandon its nuclear program is creating another crisis in the Middle East. He defended Iran's 'legitimate right' to develop nuclear energy, saying the program is completely peaceful and poses no threat. [AP]

Khatami, speaking at a gathering sponsored by the U.N. University in Tokyo, defended Iran's "legitimate right" to develop nuclear energy, saying the program is completely peaceful and poses no threat.

He warned, however, that pressure aimed at forcing Iran to abandon the program is "creating another crisis in a region that is already ready to explode."

Khatami said the policies of the western nations in the Middle East are promoting violence, although they are supposed to be aimed at fighting terrorism.

"Our nuclear program is a peaceful one completely," Khatami said. "We are not trying to create an international crisis, though some countries are trying to do that."