In an interview with Italy's La Republica newspaper on December 27, the new EU Commission Chief said rescuing the nuclear deal with Iran is getting harder and harder.

"It's harder and harder, in order to succeed it is necessary for Iran, too, to live up to the accord, something that is in growing danger," Ursula Von Der Leyen was quoted by La Republica as saying.

The new EU Commission Chief who was appointed less than a month ago did not elaborate on the subject.

Iran has criticized Britain, France and Germany for failing to save the nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) drawn between Iran and the six major world powers in 2015 by protecting Iran's economy from U.S. sanctions.

The U.S. withdrew from the deal unilaterally last year and re-introduced tough sanctions which have brought the Iranian economy to an almost standstill. Washington wants to force Iran to negotiate a broader deal that includes its nuclear activities, ballistic missile program and regional influence.

During Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's recent visit to Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe asked Iran to honor the commitments but Iranian officials insist there is no possibility for talks at any level between Tehran and Washington.

In response to the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear accord and its paralyzing sanctions, Iran has gradually reduced its commitments under the deal, including resuming enriching uranium at its Fordow plant and rapidly accelerating enrichment with advanced centrifuge machines also banned by the deal.

European parties to the Iran nuclear deal are likely to trigger a dispute resolution process in January to force Tehran to rollback violations but have yet stopped short of taking steps to restore U.N. sanctions that would officially put an end to the deal.