TEHRAN, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili said Wednesday Iran's essential questions should be answered in the upcoming talks with the five UN Security Council permanent members and Germany (G5+1), the official IRNA news agency reported.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the funeral procession for an assassinated academic, Jalili said the West should respond to Tehran's basic questions in the talks.

He was quoted as saying that "they (Westerners) used all possible ploys, including resolution, sanctions and political pressures, against us, and getting assured of their futility, have now resorted to assassination. This is sign of their desperation and failure."

These are Iran's questions and "we look forward to hearing responses to such questions in the talks," said Jalili according to IRNA.

Iranian officials have accused the West and Israel for assassination attempts on two Iranian nuclear scientists. In two separate terrorist acts in northern Tehran early Monday, Iranian nuclear scientist Majid Shahriari was killed and Fereidoon Abbasi was wounded when they were driving to work.

The European Union (EU) and Iran are expected to hold talks on Dec. 6 and 7 in Geneva, Switzerland.