TEHRAN -- Iran on Tuesday condemned the European Union’s adoption of new economic sanctions over its peaceful nuclear activities.

“Such illegal and duplicitous approaches, at a time when packages are being studied, are meaningless and are strongly condemned,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said in a statement.
EU’s latest sanctions, which were approved on Monday during a meeting of EU agriculture and fisheries ministers in Luxembourg, include visa-ban on 20 individuals and asset-freeze on Iran's largest state bank, Bank Melli, and 15 other organizations.
European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana visited Tehran on June 14 to deliver a revised offer of economic and political incentives from the 5+1 group (the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China) in exchange for a suspension of Iran’s uranium enrichment activities.
As a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran has the right to master the complete nuclear fuel cycle, including uranium enrichment, for peaceful purposes. It wants nuclear power only to generate electricity.
In a counterproposal, Iran has presented its package of proposals suggesting solutions to various political, security, economic, and nuclear issues.
The “policy of carrot and stick” against Iran will not influence the country’s national will to progress in the field of modern technologies, and will not stop it from realizing its inalienable rights, Hosseini noted.
Such behavior will make the Islamic Republic “more determined” in gaining its inalienable rights, he noted, adding that such measures will “weaken the opportunities related to the Europeans’ interests”.
EU’s measures “do not offer any help for promoting a suitable atmosphere for implementing a diplomatic solution,” he stated.
The Foreign Ministry spokesman urged the EU to avoid “ostentatious moves”, respect the Iranians’ rights, and adopt peaceful solutions based on the common grounds in the packages proposed by the two sides