France says Europe is unlikely to put together an economic package for Iran before November as Tehran urges "verifiable and actionable commitments rather than lofty and obscure promises."

Foreign ministers of Iran and the five remaining parties to the 2015 nuclear deal were meeting in Vienna on Friday to discuss ways of maintaining the international accord after the US withdrawal in May.

"In Vienna for JCPOA Ministerial Meeting. My mandate is crystal clear: Forge practical solutions. Expecting EU/E3+2 counterparts to make verifiable & actionable commitments rather than lofty & obscure promises," Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted.

Tehran has conditioned its stay in the deal to practical European strides to make sure Iran’s dividends from the deal would not be affected when US sanctions "snap back" in August.

"Make no mistake: Sanctions & JCPOA compliance are mutually exclusive," Zarif warned, using the official name for the nuclear agreement which stands for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, however, told Iran not to expect much before November as he headed to Vienna for the ministerial meeting on the agreement.

"They must stop permanently threatening to break their commitments to the nuclear deal," Le Drian told RTL radio.

"They must stop the threats so that we can find the solutions so that Iran can have the necessary economic compensations," he said.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani told German Chancellor Angela Merkel over phone Thursday that Tehran would continue cooperation with Europe if the remaining parties to the JCPOA meet Tehran's expectations.

Rouhani said the US withdrawal had caused some problems in economic areas specifically banking transactions as well as investments by foreign companies in Iran's oil sector.

He said the same problems had already made investors reluctant about continuing their operations in the Islamic Republic.

Le Drian said Friday the Europeans as well as Russia and China were working on coming up with a financial mechanism to fend off planned US sanctions.

"We are trying to do it before sanctions are imposed at the start of August and then another set of sanctions in November. For the start of August it seems a bit short, but we are trying to do it by November," he said.

After Washington’s withdrawal from the JCPOA, the Trump administration pledged “the highest level” of economic bans on Iran.

The first group of sanctions on Iran’s automotive sector, gold trade, and other industries will “snap back” on August 4. Further sanctions on oil and transactions with the central bank of Iran will come into effect November 6.

Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Friday the Europeans would not be able to fully compensate for companies leaving Iran due to new US sanctions.

"We will not be able to compensate for everything that arises from companies pulling out of Iran," Maas told reporters in Vienna.

Even so, the German foreign minister warned Tehran, saying the country would cause more harm to its economy if it chose to abandon the JCPOA.

A view of a special meeting of the Joint Commission of parties to the 2015 Iran deal at Coburg Palace in Vienna, Austria, on May 25, 2018 (Photo by AFP)

Upon his arrival at Vienna airport, Zarif said Iran expected the remaining parties to the deal to present a package of proposals that would meet the demands of the Iranian nation.

"What we expect is that on Friday, the package of commitments made by the remaining 5+1 countries, namely, China and Russia and the three EU countries and the European Union itself, will be in fact commitments to protect the rights of the Iranian people," he said.

Zarif said that prior to the ministerial meeting he would hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts as well as the European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.

In an interview with Press TV, political commentator and analyst Jason Unruhe said he expected Europe would finally ensure that Iran would benefit from the JCPOA "despite US attempts to sabotage" the nuclear deal.

“The European powers will eventually come to some consensus to make the deal for Iran that does live up to the original agreement,” said Unruhe.

Earlier this month, experts from the six countries held a meeting behind closed doors in Tehran on the fate of the Iran deal.

A Joint Commission meeting had also been held at the level of deputy foreign ministers in Vienna in late May.