In a sign that Iran is sticking to its guns, one of the country's top officials told a visiting French envoy that Tehran will adhere to the phased process of abandoning the obligations it assumed under the landmark 2015 nuclear deal until "its rights promised by the agreement are fully materialized."

The meeting with Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran's powerful Supreme National Security Council, is part of a two-day mission that French diplomat Emmanuel Bonne has been tasked with by President Emmanuel Macron.

According to Iranian media, Bonne is in Tehran to discuss with Iranian officials how European signatories of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) could implement their obligations and explore ways of salvaging the pact, which has been in tatters ever since the United States withdrew from it last May.

"Iran will no longer unilaterally comply with the accord while the other sides refuse to honor their commitments," Shamkhani told Macron's aide. The Iranian official also downplayed the US "maximum pressure" campaign against his country as "a failed policy," adding that "language of force" will not work on Iran, which has demonstrated its "capacity in fighting off multiple challenges."