Iran's top leader: No nuclear deal unless sanctions lifted
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 U.S. President Barack Obama secured enough support to prevent the Republican-led Congress from blocking it.
Ayatollah Ali 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 U.S. officials have spoken of the "suspension" of sanctions, which he said is unacceptable.
