IRAN’S Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed Saturday the fresh U.S. sanctions on Iran as the failed experience, official IRNA news agency reported.

The U.S. has sought “to cripple and hold back Iran’s economy” by resorting to sanctions, “but the outcome is that the country moves broadly towards self-sufficiency,” Khamenei was quoted as saying.

The remarks by Iran’s top leader came a day after Washington announced the return of its full-scale sanctions against Tehran.

A statement issued by the White House on Friday said that the sanctions against Iran, which takes effect today, would be “the toughest” and “unprecedented,” targeting many of the country’s “critical sectors” like energy, shipping, shipbuilding and finance.

On Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement, reacting strongly against the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions against the Islamic republic.

“Although the (U.S.) move will, objectively and practically, have few negative consequences for Iran’s economy compared with the past six months, it is regarded as a major political and moral scandal for the ruling U.S. regime,” according to the statement posted on the ministry’s website.

“The U.S. move alone amounts to a violation of the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), breach of the U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231, violation of the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICC), direct opposite to the clear will of an overwhelming majority of the world’s countries and disregard for human, legal and moral principles,” it added.

The Islamic republic of Iran condemns the imposition of “illegal” sanctions by the U.S., the statement stressed.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif held telephone conversations with the EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini and his counterparts from Germany, Sweden and Denmark to discuss Iran and Europe’s efforts to counter such U.S. moves, the ministry website reported.

On Friday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi told state IRIB TV that his country has “no concerns” over the fresh U.S. sanctions on its crude sales and banking sector.

The Iranians will prove that they are not intimidated by the U.S. sanctions, which are in effect “psychological warfare,” Qasemi said.

Russia will “do everything necessary” to preserve and expand international trade, economic and financial cooperation with Iran despite the sanctions imposed on the latter by the United States, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Saturday.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the new wave of anti-Iran sanctions is aimed at undermining the ongoing efforts of the signatories to preserve the nuclear deal.

“We reject any unilateral sanctions bypassing the decisions of the U.N. Security Council, especially when they have extraterritorial application and affect the interests of third countries, as is the case with the U.S. restrictions against Iran,” it said.

The European Union (EU) and it’s troika (France, Germany and Britain) on Friday jointly showed their deep regret on Washington’s further re-imposition of sanctions against Iran, vowing to protect European economic operators engaged in legitimate business with Tehran.

(Xinhua)