Iran said Tuesday that the depreciation of its currency value has nothing to do with recent U. S. sanctions on Iran's central bank.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Tuesday that the slump of Iranian rial against the U.S. dollar is not linked to new U.S. sanctions. Mehmanparast said that new U.S. sanctions have not been put in practice yet.

The decline of the value of Iranian currency has other causes and the problem has its roots in economic issues, he added.

On Monday, two days after U.S. sanctions on Iran's central bank were announced, Iran's currency rial presented a significant slump against the U.S. dollar.

On Monday, one dollar was exchanged for 17,800 rials in the street market in Tehran, depreciating over 14 percent in comparison with its rate on Saturday. On Saturday, one dollar was exchanged for 15,500 rials in Tehran's street market.

On Saturday, U.S. President Barack Obama signed a wide-ranging defense funding bill, calling for new sanctions against financial institutions doing business with Iran's state banking institutions.

The bill, approved by U.S. Congress last week, aimed at reducing Tehran's oil revenues but gives the U.S. president powers to waive penalties as required.

According to an amendment contained in the sweeping bill, foreign financial institutions doing business with Iran's central bank are banned from opening or maintaining correspondent operations in the United States.

The ban only applies to foreign central banks for transactions that involve the sale or purchase of petroleum or petroleum products. The penalties do not go into effect for six months, according to the bill.

U.S. officials said Washington was engaging with its foreign partners to ensure the sanctions can work without harming global energy markets.

Iranian rial has lost over 60 percent of its value against dollar in comparison to its trading value in December 2010, which stood at around 10,700 rials.

On Monday, Iran's central bank said that it will discuss the depreciation of Iranian rial with economy experts in a meeting to be held Wednesday, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

On Tuesday, Mehmanparast said that recent sanctions imposed by the U.S. government on the central bank of Iran will not weaken the nation's resolve to pursue its goals and rights, the satellite Press TV reported.

Mehmanparast added that the sanctions on Iran's central bank only aim to increase political pressure on Iran and it is a part of a propaganda campaign against the country, said the report.

"Countries which act under U.S. pressure must realize that they will eventually forfeit their national interests under illegitimate U.S. pressure," he was quoted as saying.

On Sunday, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Iran has been successful in face of Western sanctions.

Khamenei said the Islamic republic has achieved "eye-catching successes" in its confrontation with Western powers and their economic and propaganda campaigns.

"Countering the sanctions and progress in nuclear (technology) is part of these accomplishments," said Khamenei, adding that this triumphant trend will not subside and will continue apace in the future.

"The enemy is repeatedly suffering defeats and setbacks, despite its all-out security and political measures against the Islamic Republic," Khamenei reiterated.

On Sunday, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) announced that its scientists and researchers succeeded in producing and testing the first sample of nuclear fuel rod.

Deputy head of Iran's Armed Forces Joint Chiefs of Staff Brigadier General Seyyed Massoud Jazayeri said Saturday that other countries will not join the United States in imposing sanctions on Iran's oil sector.

Jazayeri said other counties will not collaborate with Washington in imposing sanctions on Iran's oil industry as they are aware of the "heavy detriments and consequences" of the move.

Iran's oil ban will take toll on the world and the move will inflict heavy losses on them, Jazayeri added.

Recently, Iran's top officials threatened to seal off the important oil passageway of Strait of Hormuz.

The Pentagon also warned Iran against any attempt to block the strait, saying that interference with the transit or passage of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz will not be tolerated.

Following an International Atomic Energy Agency report on Iran' s nuclear program last November, the United States, Britain, Canada and certain Western countries announced new sanctions against Iran and said that they were considering sanctions against Iran's Central Bank and Iran's crude exports.

On Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe asked the European Community to impose further tough sanctions against Iran after its recent threat to bloc the strategic oil passage of Strait of Hormuz through which some 40 percent of the world's tanker-carried oil flows to the Indian Ocean.

On Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak told the country 's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that while efforts to impose "crippling" sanction were largely unsuccessful, "Iran's central bank and its petroleum industry are under a lot of pressure."

Israel and the United States have not ruled out military steps to thwart Iran's alleged drive to build nuclear weapons, the claims which the Islamic republic strongly rejects.