TEHRAN: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday said Moscow expected the Iranian nuclear deal to be saved and condemned EU sanctions against Iran, saying they could undermine sensitive nuclear talks.

"We expect that it will be possible to preserve the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action," Lavrov said after talks with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tehran. He also blasted recent EU sanctions on Iran, saying they sparked "a huge amount of questions".