One other point.....
Like lawyers, we have been batting this problem around for 4 pages, at our leisure. The Original Poster should NOT have been left in doubt what altitude to fly, in a speeding airplane, possibly over hazardous terrain. If the ATCO had issued this clearance, "Cleared direct to KELON, cross KELON at or above 2,500 feet (or whatever is appropriate for the case), cleared ILS 10", it would have been crystal clear what altitude to fly enroute to KELON.
TW 514, to any pilot in the US that remembers it, was one of the real influential accidents--it changed aviation. GPWS and EGPWS comes directly from that accident, as does a slew of FAA ATC changes, radar low altitude warnings and CRM. As I remember it, the FE was on the tape protesting the pilots decision to descend to the intermediate altitude when cleared by Approach Control.
There are lots of "out-of-the-way" airports where a clearance like the OP's and a descent based on the clearance could kill. The American and Canadian West have many such airports; no doubt the Alps, too.
GF