French Defense Minister Florence Parly
French Defense Minister Florence ParlyReuters

French Defense Minister Florence Parly said on Friday that scrapping the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran would help hardliners and be a step towards future war.

At the same time, she stressed that France wants to take action to tackle Iran's missile program and "destabilizing" behavior, reported Reuters.

"We need the JCPOA. Scrapping it would be a gift to Iran´s hardiners, and a first step towards future wars," Parly said in a speech at a Washington think tank, referring to the nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

"But we should also be very serious about the destabilizing ballistic and regional activities. We are working on it," she added.

Parly's comments come a week after U.S. President Donald Trump's decision not to recertify the Iran deal.

European countries have expressed their support for the Iran deal even as Trump has criticized it.

On Thursday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves le Drian made clear his country remains committed to the Iran nuclear deal despite Trump's decision.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)