BRUSSELS: The European Union will chair a meeting of the nations involved in the embattled Iran nuclear deal in Vienna on June 28.

Besides the EU, the meeting will be attended by high-level representatives from China, France, Germany, Russia, Britain and Iran, the bloc said Thursday in a statement.

It said the meeting was called 鈥渨ith the intention of ensuring the continued implementation鈥� of the Iran nuclear deal, which has come under increasing pressure since the United States withdrew from the agreement last year.

The statement said the meeting will seek to address 鈥渃hallenges arising from the withdrawal and re-imposition of sanctions by the United States on Iran,鈥� as well as Iran鈥檚 announcement earlier this week that it could break the limits set on its uranium stockpile by the 2015 deal.

鈥淚 believe the deal that was signed in 2015 is not enough, but it鈥檚 a good deal,鈥� French president Emmanuel Macron said after a meeting of the European Council. 鈥淚鈥檓 ruing the announcement made by Iran at the start of the week. France will do everything for Iran to remain in the deal.鈥�

Macron also called for a de-escalation of tensions between the United States and Iran after President Donald Trump declared Thursday that 鈥淚ran made a very big mistake鈥� by shooting down a US surveillance drone over the Strait of Hormuz and gathered top national security officials at the White House to discuss options.

鈥淲e want to preserve collective security in the region, that of our allies鈥� Macron said. 鈥淲e want to maintain a maximum of guarantees to ensure Iran does not get nuclear weapon. The most important is to avoid any form of escalation.鈥�