A nuclear agreement clinched between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries will pave the way for Tehran's closer relations with the West, including France, a top adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, says.

Ali Akbar Velayati made the remarks in a meeting with former French Interior Minister Jean-Pierre Chevenement in Tehran on Saturday in reference to the nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), reached between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia -- plus Germany in the Austrian capital of Vienna on July 14.

Under the JCPOA, limits will be put on Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for, among other things, the removal of all economic and financial bans against the Islamic Republic.

“The nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries will open doors to [Iran’s] ties with Western states, particularly with France,” Velayati said.

He added that Iran and France have the potential to forge closer cooperation to establish peace and resolve tension in regional countries such as Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

The top Iranian official added that Tehran and Paris share common policies on regional crises and respect the territorial integrity of Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

Iran and France believe that regional problems should be settled through political approaches and not military channels, Velayati pointed out.

The ex-French minister, for his part, said  that the Vienna nuclear agreement will help improve Tehran-Paris ties and settle the ongoing crises in the Middle East and Africa, including those in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, Mali and Libya.

Chevenement added France follows an independent foreign policy which is not influenced by the United States.

He noted that Iran and France can play an effective role in establishing peace in the region and across the world and serving their national interests.