TEHRAN - Tehran on Sunday shrugged off the United States’ decision to extend its sanctions on the Islamic Republic, saying Iran is used to such sanctions and their ineffectiveness has already been proven.

On Saturday, U.S. President George W. Bush signed into law a new sanctions bill after the Senate passed it earlier that day.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini described the sanctions as “futile, extrajudicial, unilateral, and a sign of hostile action” by U.S. officials.

Hosseini condemned the implementation of unilateral policies and the adoption of additional extrajudicial measures against Iran.

In a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry's Information and Press Bureau, Hosseini pointed out that sanctions can never affect the resolve of a great nation that has attained its independence and made progress through reliance on its religious and national beliefs and deep faith.

Noting that similar bills and laws passed by the U.S. had produced the opposite of the desired result, he stated that such measures would again undermine U.S. interests and further isolate Washington.

U.S. officials must realize that the era of effective sanctions ended long ago, since international trade has its own rules and principles and advances irrespective of political motivations, he added. Hosseini stated that unilateral measures and attempts to impose extrajudicial and extraterritorial laws serve to discredit the legislation itself, are considered violations of international law, and will certainly cause an increase in international protests about the hegemonistic policy of the U.S.

Majlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel said here on Sunday that the sanctions bill indicates that Washington is still pursuing its old approach toward Tehran and does not want to revise its policies.

"The extension of sanctions indicates the Americans are still treading their previous path," he told MPs at an open session of the Majlis.

U.S. officials have not made any serious decision to revise their policies and have not learned a lesson from the conditions prevailing in the world, he observed. "Such sanctions are more detrimental to the United States than Iran."

Iran has grown accustomed to sanctions, he added.

Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee spokesman Kazem Jalali said that the committee and Foreign Ministry officials would discuss the U.S. sanctions during a meeting on Tuesday.

Jalali told reporters on Sunday that U.S. officials continue their hostility while trying to show that the United States is a democracy.

According to Article 2 of the United Nations Charter, such unilateral sanctions are interference in the internal affairs of an independent country, he said, adding that Iran should send a letter to the UN in protest at the move.

U.S. sanctions against Iran have been in force since shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.