Iran vowed Friday that its nuclear policy remained "totally unchanged" after the United States imposed new sanctions on Tehran, the official IRNA news agency reported.

 

Iran's new chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili made the remarks to reporters at the Mehrabad Airport in Tehran upon his returning from talks in Rome with European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

 

"The Islamic Republic of Iran's basic policy of negotiations aimed at seeking new ways for cooperation and resolving the outstanding issues with the UN nuclear agency and removal of misunderstanding about national nuclear program remains totally unchanged," Jalili told the reporters.

 

"Since we have lived under US sanctions during the past 28 years, this move was merely a new step in line with their former moves," he said.

 

Jalili's comments came after the United States announced on Thursday that it is imposing new sanctions against Iran because Tehran supports terrorism in the Middle East, exports missiles and is engaging in a nuclear buildup.

 

The sanctions will be imposed against Iran's Defense Ministry, its Revolutionary Guard Corps and more than 20 Iranian companies, banks and individuals.

 

Under US laws, any assets found in the United States belonging to the designated groups must be frozen. Americans are also forbidden from doing business with them.

 

The sanctions are believed to be the toughest Washington has levied against Iran since the 1979 takeover of the US.Embassy in Tehran.

 

Iranian Foreign Ministry's spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini on Thursday slammed the sanctions, saying the US measures were doomed to failure.

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(Xinhua News Agency October 27, 2007)