Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman dismissed on Monday the new European Union (EU) oil sanction pressures against Iran as "failed mechanisms," the state IRIB TV reported.

Referring to the EU's new sanctions on Iran's oil exports, Ramin Mehmanparast was quoted as saying that Iran's oil sanctions and the economic crisis in Europe are not compatible with each other and it is more of a "psychological war" and "propagandistic pressure" against Iran.

The EU on Monday imposed further sanctions against Iran's oil exports as well as its central bank, a move aimed to ramp up pressure over the country's disputed nuclear program.

According to an EU conclusion, the 27-member bloc banned imports of Iranian crude oil and petroleum products.

However, to protect the vested interests of European companies, the conclusion gave countries with "already concluded contracts" with Iran until 1 July of 2012 to carry out the embargo.

The conclusion also outlawed exports of key equipment and technology for the petrochemical sector to Iran, new investments in petrochemical companies in Iran, as well as joint ventures with such enterprises.

The EU currently purchases nearly 20 percent of Iran's crude exports, with countries such as Greece and Italy most reliant on its oil.

The Persian Gulf nations such as Saudi Arabia have offered to step up its own production to compensate for any shortfall caused by the ban on Iranian oil.

"The EU is already engaged in too many economical issues to allow it to spend that much time in trying to convince other countries not to buy Iranian crude," Amanda Paul, an analyst at the European Policy Center, told Xinhua.

Meanwhile, the EU froze on Monday the assets of the Iranian central bank within the bloc, while ensuring that legitimate trade can continue under strict conditions.

The conclusion said that trade in gold, precious metals and diamonds with Iranian public bodies and the central bank would no longer be permitted, nor would a number of additional sensitive dual-use goods may be sold to Iran.

"The strategic needs of the world's countries to energy will not allow to exert sanction pressures on Iran which holds the world's second sources of natural gas and oil," Mehmanparast said on Monday.

Economic sanctions on Iran under the pretext of Iran's nuclear activities is "illogical and unfair move," the Iranian spokesman told IRIB, but he added that the sanctions would not have any impact on Iran's move to achieve its basic rights.

"Any country, which withdraws from the Iranian energy market, will be replaced by their rivals," Mehmanparast stressed.

On Monday, Abbas Aragchi, Iranian deputy Foreign Minister for Asia-Pacific and Commonwealth of Independent States, told official IRNA news agency that the EU is driving the already ailing economies of its member states to absolute stalemate by adopting new sanctions on Iran.

Aragchi said that anti-Tehran sanctions had proved useless over the past years and that the language of threat and pressure would further reinvigorate the determination of the Iranian nation to insist on its "legitimate" nuclear rights enshrined by Non- Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

"Unfortunately, certain governments see the sanctions on (Iran' s) oil and banking as a breakthrough for the dispute on nuclear program, whereas, the sanctions will drive their own crippling economies to further complications," Aragchi was quoted as saying.

The EU must show goodwill in negotiations and the way for settlement of dispute over nuclear program, Aragchi said.

The western governments have this experience, since the victory of the Islamic Revolution three decades ago, that the language of pressure and threat will get nowhere, and the EU's new sanctions will bring nothing to the western states and they must adopt constructive approach towards Iran to settle the dispute, Aragchi added.

On Monday, Iran's former oil minister Kazem Vaziri-Hamaneh said the oil embargo against Iran by the EU will lead to a sudden rise in oil prices. He was quoted as saying by the local Mehr news agency as saying that Iran's oil has its own customers around the world.

"Europe should be confident that Iran's oil will not remain without customer," Vaziri-Hamaneh said, adding that "I personally do not take serious oil embargo against Iran by Europe."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday that Russia would strive for the resumption of talks between Iran and the international community, even though the EU made unilateral steps that may hinder negotiations.

"We are going to constrain everybody from abrupt moves and strive for the resumption of the talks," Lavrov told reporters. Referring to the EU's fresh sanctions, he noted that the sanctions would not facilitate the resolution of Iran's nuclear issue.

"Everybody must follow this path (collective sanctions approved by the UN), with no need to add or subtract anything from that common position," Lavrov said.