Paris, Feb 20 (RHC)-- France has stressed the importance of the strict implementation of the multilateral nuclear agreement, saying it would hold more talks with its European and US allies on the Iranian nuclear program.   The French foreign ministry has reaffirmed the country's commitment to the nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries, including France, in 2015.

Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China -- plus Germany signed the nuclear agreement on July 14, 2015 and started implementing it on January 16, 2016.  Under the JCPOA, Iran undertook to put limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions imposed against Tehran.

"The French position on the Iran nuclear deal is known.  As the President of the Republic (Emmanuel Macron) has said, we reaffirm our full attachment to the global action plan and its strict implementation," the ministry said in an online media briefing.  It added: "We will continue to talk about the Iran nuclear program with our European and American partners."

The French president has earlier told his U.S. counterpart that all the signatories to the Iran nuclear deal should respect the terms of the agreement.  In a phone conversation with Trump, Macron reaffirmed France's determination to see "the strict application of the deal and the importance of all the signatories to respect it," the Elysee Palace said in a statement.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly described the JCPOA, which was negotiated under his predecessor, Barack Obama, as “the worst and most one-sided transaction Washington has ever entered into,” a characterization he often used during his presidential campaign, and threatened to tear it up.