Paris (AFP)

Emmanuel Macron's proposals to unblock the crisis over the Iranian nuclear deal are "in the right direction," Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Friday in an interview with AFP.

The proposals "go in the right direction, but it is clear that there is still some way," said the minister in this interview, having met the French president at midday.

"We had a good discussion today," the minister said in an interview at the Ambassador's residence. "We talked about possibilities, and now he (Emmanuel Macron, ed) will discuss this with his European partners and other partners to see where we can go," he added.

The meeting between Zarif and the French president comes on the eve of the G7 summit in Biarritz, in southwestern France, where the French president intends to make proposals, in the presence of Donald Trump, who denounced the Iran's nuclear deal in 2015 and imposed sanctions on Tehran.

"We need to have a summit discussion on how to manage the Iranian issue, we have real disagreements in the G7, (with on one side) three European powers and Japan who have a fairly clear position, a relationship with the 'Iran totally assumed, and the Americans (...) who decided to change totally of line,' commented on Wednesday the French president.

After the US decision, Tehran has announced that it will be relieved of its obligations under this agreement, the purpose of which is to limit its nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

This escalation, combined with tensions in the Arab-Persian Gulf region, has led to an explosive situation in this particularly volatile region, causing some observers to fear the outbreak of war, even if unintentionally.

Diplomatically, Iran is trying to push Europeans, who want to preserve the agreement, to take steps to override US sanctions. But European companies are not willing to risk lawsuits and fines from US authorities.

"Once Europe begins to deliver on its commitments" to get rid of US sanctions, "Iran will be ready to reverse its decisions" on nuclear, the minister said.

Asked about Emmanuel Macron's proposals, the minister did not go into details. "For us the important thing is that we can continue to trade with the European Union," he said.

© 2019 AFP