Iran lashes out at new U.S. sanctions bill

TEHRAN, Oct. 1 -- Iran on Sunday lashed out at a new U.S. bill of sanctions on entities or countries that provide goods or services for Iran's weapons programs, local Fars News Agency reported.

Warning Washington against taking "any further steps on its present path," Iranian Parliament Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel said that the U.S. sanctions bill indicated that Washington was still following the same approach towards Tehran and was not inclined towards revising its policies.

He made the remarks at an open session of the Iranian parliament on Sunday.

The top lawmaker said that the measure proved that U.S. officials "had not yet taken a good lesson from the present conditions dominating the world."

"Such sanctions are more detrimental to the United States than Iran," said Adel, adding that his country was "well familiar with and used to experiencing sanctions."

U.S. President George W. Bush on Saturday signed into law a new sanctions bill called Iran Freedom Support Act after the U.S. Senate passed it earlier Saturday.

The Iran Freedom Support Act would sanction any entity that contributes to Iran's capability of acquiring chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.

The legislation formalizes existing economic sanctions against Iran that have been in effect since 1979 and says that the United States shall not reach agreements with governments that are assisting Iran's nuclear program or transferring weapons or missiles to Iran.

The U.S. sanctions against Iran have remained since the takeover of the U.S. embassy by Iranian radicals in 1979.

Moreover, Washington has been seeking to impose sanctions on Iran through the UN Security Council on the grounds that Iran develops a nuclear weapon program under the cover of a civilian program.

Iran, however, has denied the charge, saying its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.