TEHRAN — Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the United States is planning to launch two wars in the Middle East in order to pressure Tehran, English-language Press TV reported on Tuesday.

“We have precise information that the Americans have devised a plot… they plan to attack at least two countries in the region within the next three months,” he said in remarks Press TV posted on its website from an interview with him late Monday.

Ahmadinejad said the United States was seeking to achieve two main objectives from these wars.

“First of all, they want to hamper Iran’s progress and development since they are opposed to our growth, and, secondly, they want to save the Zionist regime because it has reached a dead-end and the Zionists believe they can be saved through a military confrontation,” he said referring to Israel.

Iran vowed on Tuesday to press ahead with its nuclear program as it condemned tough new sanctions.

The European Union slapped fresh sanctions on Iran’s key energy sector on Monday in a bid to halt its sensitive uranium enrichment program. Canada followed suit, and the United States said the punitive steps would bite.

“These sanctions will not help in resuming talks and will not affect Iran’s determination to defend its legitimate right to pursue a peaceful nuclear program,” foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast.

The punitive measures would “not help in advancing the talks,” he said, as quoted by the official IRNA news agency on Tuesday.

The EU sanctions follow similar measures meted out by the United States by going beyond a fourth set of UN sanctions imposed on June 9 over Iran’s refusal to freeze uranium enrichment.

Among their measures are a ban on the sale of equipment, technology and services to Iran’s energy sector, and steps to hit activities in refining, liquefied natural gas, exploration and production, EU diplomats said.

New investments in the energy sector were also banned.

Iran is the world’s fourth largest producer of crude oil, but imports 40 percent of its fuel needs because it lacks enough refining capabilities to meet domestic demand.

The Iranian banking sector was also hit by restrictions, forcing any transactions of more than 40,000 euros (52,000 dollars) to be authorized by EU governments before they can go ahead.

Iran also has the world’s second-largest reserves of natural gas after Russia, but the development of its giant gas fields has been delayed due to a lack of investment in a country faced with severe gas needs of its own and because of difficulties in procuring the required technology.

Several top global energy majors have already quit Iran, or have been considering an exit since the fresh set of UN sanctions.

The last high-level meeting between Iran and the six world powers was held in Geneva in October 2009 when the two sides agreed a nuclear fuel swap deal that has since stalled.

Western powers have demanded Iran suspend its uranium enrichment program, fearing Tehran would use the material to build a nuclear bomb. Iran says its atomic program is a peaceful drive to produce energy.

On Monday Iran responded to queries raised by the Vienna group of diplomatic powers — France, Russia and the United States — over a nuclear fuel swap proposal by Brazil, Turkey and Tehran.

Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Tehran was ready for “prompt talks without any preconditions” over the fuel swap deal.

Iran also said earlier this month that talks over Iran’s overall nuclear program could begin in September after EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton reached out to Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili in a letter in June.