TEHRAN - Iran has denounced as "an antagonistic move" a tightening of US sanctions targeting Tehran's central bank and giving US banks new powers to freeze Iranian government assets, and said it would have no impact.
In further defiance of world pressure on Iran to curb its nuclear programme, parliamentarians said they would speed up passage of a bill to ban Iranian oil exports to the European Union well before an EU decision to bar Iranian crude would take effect.
The US sanctions step, in an executive order signed by President Barack Obama, was the latest measure against the Central Bank of Iran and was meant to close loopholes in existing sanctions Tehran has faced.
Tension with the West rose last month when Washington and the EU took direct aim at the ability of OPEC's second biggest oil exporter to sell crude to force Tehran to rein in its nuclear work, which the west suspects is meant to yield atom bombs.
Iran said after the EU approved an oil embargo against Iran on January 23, that it would fight such sanctions with its own.
But, a parliamentary debate set for January 30 on a proposed halt to crude sales to the EU was postponed.
But Obama's move provoked Iranian parliamentarians, who said yesterday that the assembly was ready to speed up passage of a bill to oblige the government to ban oil exports to some EU states - turning the tables on the EU.
US tightens screws as Iran stands its ground
TEHRAN - Iran has denounced as "an antagonistic move" a tightening of US sanctions targeting Tehran's central bank and giving US banks new powers to freeze Iranian government assets, and said it would have no impact.
In further defiance of world pressure on Iran to curb its nuclear programme, parliamentarians said they would speed up passage of a bill to ban Iranian oil exports to the European Union well before an EU decision to bar Iranian crude would take effect.
The US sanctions step, in an executive order signed by President Barack Obama, was the latest measure against the Central Bank of Iran and was meant to close loopholes in existing sanctions Tehran has faced.
Tension with the West rose last month when Washington and the EU took direct aim at the ability of OPEC's second biggest oil exporter to sell crude to force Tehran to rein in its nuclear work, which the west suspects is meant to yield atom bombs.
Iran said after the EU approved an oil embargo against Iran on January 23, that it would fight such sanctions with its own.
But, a parliamentary debate set for January 30 on a proposed halt to crude sales to the EU was postponed.
But Obama's move provoked Iranian parliamentarians, who said yesterday that the assembly was ready to speed up passage of a bill to oblige the government to ban oil exports to some EU states - turning the tables on the EU.
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