"The European Union is following the US in taking steps blindly and in a wrong path. Its obedience to the US has questioned its dignity and independence," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on Tuesday, ILNA reported.
He deplored the new EU sanctions as "ineffective and unconstructive" and said, "Sanctions will neither help EU promote its so-called policy of negotiations nor cause any obstacle in the Iranian nation's will to restore its legitimate rights in pursuing peaceful nuclear energy."
The spokesperson also warned that the EU move to impose fresh sanctions on the Islamic Republic will complicate the atmosphere of interaction.
"Sanctions will bear no fruit but promotion of self-sufficiency for the Iranian nation on one hand and deprivation of Europe and the West, on the other hand, from a unique opportunity to cooperate with a regional power which enjoys high political, economic and cultural potentials," he stressed.
Mehmanparast went on to say that the Islamic Republic considers the EU measure as "another step towards enmity with the Iranian nation" which will result in adverse consequences for the block.
The remarks came after the 27-member European bloc adopted new measures against Tehran, which includes a ban on investment in Iran's oil and gas industry by member states as well as the sales of energy related equipment.
While Western powers accuse Iran of pursuing a covert military nuclear program, Tehran denies the charges and argues that as a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency and a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, it should be entitled to exercise its nuclear right.
In an attempt to allay international fears, Iran, Turkey and Brazil signed a fuel swap declaration on May 17 under which Tehran agreed to exchange 1,200 kg of its low-enriched uranium on Turkish soil with fuel for its medical research reactor.