Tehran, Mar 3 (IANS): Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has urged the US to lift sanctions to save the nuclear deal, which is also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

"JCPOA is by no means renegotiable, and the only way to protect and revive it is to remove sanctions by the US," Xinhua news agency quoted quoted Rouhani as saying on Tuesday while speaking to French President Emmanuel Macron on the phone.

Iran's gradual retreat from its nuclear obligations is due to the US' 2018 withdrawal from the JCPOA as well as the "inability" of the UK, France and Germany to fulfil their nuclear commitments, Rouhani said.

He stressed that Iran will re-embrace its obligations immediately if other parties of the deal adhere to their undertakings.

Tehran's recent suspension of the voluntary implementation of the additional protocol of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is within the framework of the law passed by the Iranian Parliament, he said.

In the meantime, "our cooperation with the IAEA continues and we have never left the JCPOA", he stressed.

On February 23, Iran stopped implementation of the voluntary measures including the IAEA additional protocol, as envisaged in the JCPOA, which are beyond safeguard agreement.