Reuters - Iran is prepared to work on French proposals to salvage the international nuclear deal that Tehran signed with world powers in 2015, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Thursday.

�There are proposals on the table, both from the French and the Iranian side, and we are going to work on those proposals tomorrow,� he said at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs.

French President Emmanuel Macron offered on Wednesday to either soften sanctions on Iran or provide �a compensation mechanism to enable the Iranian people to live better� in return for full compliance with the pact, which the United States quit last year.

Zarif added: �I�m looking forward to having a serious conversation with President Macron about possibilities to move forward.�

He had said on Monday he would meet Macron and Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian in Paris on Friday.

Zarif also addressed the United States� efforts to create a security operation, which so far Britain, Australia and Bahrain have joined, to guard shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital gateway for the global oil industry.