Iran's top leader: No nuclear deal unless sanctions lifted, not suspended
TEHRAN - Iran's supreme leader said Thursday "there will be no deal" if world powers insist on suspending rather than lifting sanctions as part of a landmark nuclear agreement, and said it is up to Iran's parliament, and not him, to approve or reject it.
His remarks, read aloud by a state TV anchorman, mark the first official comment on the deal since US President Barack Obama secured enough support to prevent the Republican-led Congress from blocking it. Khamenei has yet to express a clear opinion on the deal clinched in July, which would curb Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for relief from crippling sanctions.
Khamenei said some US officials have spoken of the "suspension" of sanctions, which he said is unacceptable. "If the sanctions are going to be suspended, then we will also fulfil our obligations on the ground at the level of suspension and not in a fundamental way," he said.
