Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrive for a joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia March 28, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday he hoped that Iran would not quit the agreement Iran reached in 2015 with world powers to curb Tehran’s nuclear work in return for the lifting of most sanctions.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said this week that Iran could abandon the deal “within hours” if the United States imposed any more new sanctions..

Lavrov also said he hoped the United States would not violate its obligations under the nuclear deal with Iran.

“I think unilateral sanctions ... are irresponsible actions that can hurt and undermine the balance achieved,” Lavrov said, commenting on new restrictions recently imposed by Washington on Iran.