TEHRAN: Iran has asked the United States to first lift sanctions if it wants to talk about salvaging the 2015 nuclear deal.

In an interview, Iranian foreign minister Muhammad Javad Zarif said the U.S. will not be able to rejoin the nuclear pact before it lifts sanctions.

Meanwhile, the director general International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi who is in Tehran to discuss the agency’s essential verification activities” met today with Iran´s atomic chief.