PARIS, May 8 (Xinhua) -- France's defense minister on Tuesday warned that challenging the 2015 nuclear deal risks escalating tensions in "very eruptive region," calling for more efforts to improve the agreement.

Florence Parly told RTL radio the agreement had successfully suspended the Iranian nuclear power program, even if it was "not perfect."

"It's not the best of agreements. (But,) it is a factor of peace and stabilization in a very eruptive region," she added.

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to decide whether to leave the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as Iran nuclear deal, no later than May 12.

The United States has repeatedly threatened to reimpose sanctions on Iran and decertify the JCPOA, signed between Iran and six world major countries in 2015. The deal was designed to limit Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the removal of international sanctions on the country.

"Any escalation that concerns Iran can only be a factor of aggravation of a situation already very tense," the minister warned.

"It will be necessary to constantly continue to plead for the improvement of this agreement, whether the United States is there or not," she said.

Reiterating the necessity to maintain the 2015 nuclear deal, French President Emmanuel Macron suggested opening new global talks on a Iran post-2025 nuclear program that would include its ballistic missile program and its regional influence.