MNA � French ambassador to Tehran Philippe Thiebaud said his country is fully determined to make efforts for removal of unilateral sanctions on Iran and expansion of cooperation between the two sides.

He made the remarks in a meeting with the governor of Hormozgan province on Sunday.

The re-imposition of US� sanctions on Iran, regrettably, has had an adverse effect on the level of cooperation between Iran and France, the ambassador said, adding �the French president, however, has been making efforts to lift the sanctions through holding political talks at the highest of levels.�

Philippe Thiebaud went on to add that French President Emmanuel Macron is fully resolved to take steps for the removal of sanctions and expansion of cooperation with Iran; �for this purpose, he has had many talks with Iranian President Rouhani,� he added.

�We are ready to move forward with mutual understanding to develop cooperation between France and Iran,� the ambassador said, adding that Hormozgan province could act as the center of cooperation between the two sides, especially in the fields of economy, trade and tourism.

For his part, the governor of Hormozgan, Freydoun Hemmati, said �We expect France, as an important European country, to take practical steps to preserve the nuclear deal and establish closer cooperation with Iran after the irrational and unlawful withdrawal of the US from the JCPOA.�

France could be Iran�s focus for further cooperation with Europe, he added.

�We need to define genuine and sincere cooperation between Iran and France so that we can have close bilateral cooperation in various fields,� he stressed.