TEHRAN (Tasnim) Iran condemned the United States for imposing new sanctions on its nationals and a company, calling the move unjust and contradictory as both sides pursue indirect negotiations over Tehrans nuclear program and the anti-Iran sanctions.

The US State Department on Monday announced sanctions targeting three Iranian individuals and a company named Fuya Pars Prospective Technologists.

Washington accused them of participating in dual-use research and development activities linked to nuclear weapons capabilities.

The sanctions freeze any US-based assets belonging to the individuals and the firm and prohibit American entities from conducting business with them.

The announcement came a day after the US and Iran held their fourth round of indirect talks, facilitated by Oman, aimed at reviving a nuclear agreement and easing sanctions on Tehran.

Both sides agreed in principle to continue the negotiations, though the timing for the next round remains undecided.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Majid Takht Ravanchi criticized the US move, labeling its approach inconsistent.

In their talks, they are interested in this work to proceed, and that is why we have held four rounds of talks, and the next round has not yet been scheduled, but it has been agreed upon in principle, he said.

Takht Ravanchi argued that US behavior undermines trust.

American officials' threatening and non-threatening statements fail to build confidence and instead cast doubts and suspicions on Washington's position, he stated.

Addressing the impact of sanctions, he said they are exerting significant pressure on Irans population.

Sanctions are putting pressure on different segments of the population. Our effort in the diplomatic apparatus is to do our best to eliminate the sanctions within the framework of the country's policies, he said.

He emphasized that sanctions relief alone would not resolve Iran's economic challenges.

I don't want to say that the economic solution for the country is to lift sanctions, he noted.

The main part of the work is to fix the economic situation inside the country and economic order must be established. But the next step is the external aspect, so that we can lift sanctions in order to solve the problems.

On the state of negotiations, Takht Ravanchi said Iran remains committed but cautious.

"We cannot give a timeframe for when these issues will be resolved and what the outcome will be. We are trying," he said.

We believe the path we are on is the right one, but at the same time there are many challenges. It is not an easy task, but we are doing our best.