Iran's leader: US must lift sanctions before return to deal

Iran's supreme leader says the US must lift all sanctions if it wants Iran to return to the nuclear deal with Western powers, state TV reported Sunday.

The televised comments mark Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's first since the inauguration of President Joe Biden, who has said he wants to rejoin the accord.

"If they want Iran to return to its commitments, the US must lift all sanctions in practice, then we will do verification and see if the sanctions were lifted correctly, then we will return to our commitments," Khamenei said.