Iran welcomes French efforts to reduce tensions over nuclear deal

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Wednesday that France's efforts to save the 2015 nuclear deal are welcome, as French President Emmanuel Macron's top diplomatic adviser visits Iran for talks to help ease the crisis.

Abbas Mousavi "welcomed France's role in reducing tension and implementing the accord," Iran's state-run news agency IRNA reported him as saying during a visit by France's diplomat Emmanuel Bonne.

"The French are part of efforts ... to keep the nuclear deal alive," Mousavi was quoted as saying.

On Monday, Iranian atomic energy organisation spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said Iran's uranium enrichment level passed 4.5 percent, exceeding the 2015 nuclear deal cap.

Meanwhile, Tehran threatened to restart deactivated centrifuges and increase enrichment of uranium to 20 percent, just a step away from weapons-grade levels.

US President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal between Iran and six world powers in May 2018 and has since reimposed crippling sanctions on many sectors including the crucial oil and financial industries.

Read more: Trump has discussed Iran nuclear standoff with Macron

Iran demanded the other parties - France, Germany, Britain, China and Russia - take steps to guarantee the economic benefits Iran was promised for the drastic limitations imposed on its nuclear programme.

However, after one year of what it called "strategic patience", Tehran has grown increasingly frustrated about a perceived lack of action by the European side to help it economically in the face of US sanctions.

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