TEHRAN, Feb. 7 -- The United States should abandon the illusion of pressuring Tehran as means to change its nuclear stance, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman was quoted as saying by Press TV on Friday.

The Islamic republic is standing firm on its inalienable rights and will never withdraw, Marzieh Afkham said, adding that the U.S. hostility will never force Tehran to give up its nuclear rights.

"The United States is trying to impose a new negative atmosphere on the talks," Afkham said after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's recent remarks in which he said that the Geneva deal froze and pushed back Iran's nuclear program.

Such remarks tarnish the positive atmosphere between Iran and the six major world powers ahead of a new round of nuclear talks, the Iranian spokeswoman said.

On Thursday, the U.S. Treasury Department announced new actions targeting a number of companies and individuals around the world for evading U.S. sanctions against Iran.

With the move, the U.S. freezes the assets of the designated sanction-evaders under U.S. jurisdiction and bans American citizens from carrying out transactions with them, the Treasury Department said in a statement.

The targeted companies and individuals are located across the world, operating in Turkey, Spain, Germany, Georgia, Afghanistan, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Liechtenstein, the statement said.