New American sanctions against Iran's nuclear programme will have "no effect", Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said Friday, AFP reported.
Washington announced new sanctions on Thursday against the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran and its head Ali Akbar Salehi.
Brian Hook, the US pointman on Iran, accused them of playing "a big role in Iran breaching its key nuclear commitments" and exceeding "the limits on its uranium stockpile and enrichment levels".
In a statement, Mousavi said "Mr Salehi is an eminent scientific and political figure" and sanctions against him showed the "despair" of the United States.