Iran shrugs off sanctions' impact

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TEHRAN, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- An Iranian official Monday sloughed off the effect of sanctions against his country saying Iran's "strategic depth" gives it strength to resist enemy pressures.

Brig. Gen. Massoud Jazayeri, Iran's armed forces deputy chief of staff for cultural affairs and defense publicity, was reacting against the Jan. 23 agreement among the European Union members to prohibit Iranian oil imports and freeze Iran's Central Bank assets within the EU, Iran's semi-official news arm, the Fars News Agency, reported.

"Due to the Islamic Republic of Iran's strategic depth in all parts of the world, we are able to pass through the enemies' pressures," Jazayeri said at a Tehran news conference.

Catherine Ashton, EU foreign policy chief, said the sanctions are intended to pressure Iran into resuming talks concerning its nuclear program, Fars said.

"The hurried decision by EU states to use oil as a political tool will have a negative impact on the world economy and specially on the recovering European economies which are fighting to overcome the global financial crisis," Jazayeri said.