World powers will remain "very vigilant" to ensure Tehran commits to a nuclear deal that has seen the West lift sanctions on Iran, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Monday.

The entry into force on Saturday of the July 14 deal between Iran and world powers "is a good thing... but we should be extremely strict in monitoring its implementation," he said.

"We will be very vigilant," he told reporters on the sidelines of the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi.

The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed late Saturday that Tehran had complied with its obligations under the accord, leading the United States and the European Union to lift sanctions imposed over Iran's disputed nuclear programme that had crippled its economy for a decade.

These obligations included Iran dramatically downscaling its nuclear programme, including slashing by two-thirds the number of its uranium centrifuges and reducing its stockpile of uranium.

Fabius said he hoped "the state of mind that allowed for this deal will have positive consequences on Iran's general attitude in the region".

Peace talks scheduled to take place in Geneva on January 25 to resolve Syria's deadly conflict would provide the "first opportunity" to test Tehran's intentions, he said.

Iran -- alongside Russia -- is a key backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, which has been locked in deadly fighting with opponents since an uprising erupted in 2011.

Fabius is to visit Tehran's regional rival Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, just days before Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is expected in Paris.

Saudi Arabia severed its diplomatic ties with Iran earlier this month after protesters attacked its missions in the Shiite-dominated Islamic republic.

The protests erupted in response to the execution in the Sunni-ruled kingdom of prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.

Asked if France could play a mediator role between Riyadh and Tehran, Fabius said: "Mediation is not the right word, but we are talking to both sides."

Fabius said he would meet Saudi King Salman on Tuesday ahead of a meeting on economic cooperation between France and Saudi Arabia in March.

Canada signals openness to restoring Iran diplomatic ties
Ottawa (AFP) Jan 18, 2016 - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday expressed an openness to restoring diplomatic ties with Iran, four years after Canada shuttered its embassy in Tehran.

Such a move would be a reversal of the foreign policy set by the previous Tory administration, which had vowed to keep its sanctions regime against Iran after a preliminary deal on the Islamic republic's nuclear program in 2013.

Trudeau said Iran had made "significant movement towards respecting international expectations" regarding the dismantling of parts of its nuclear program that the West feared could have led to the manufacture of nuclear weapons.

"That is something positive and I expect there will be (diplomatic) links now between Canada and Iran," he said.

"We will certainly be discussing that further at a cabinet meeting in the coming weeks," he added.

Canada broke diplomatic ties with Iran in September 2012.

At the time, then foreign affairs minister John Baird did not cite a specific incident for the breakdown in relations but issued a strongly worded attack on the Islamic republic's support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, its "incitement to genocide" against Israel, and its leaders' failure to account for their nuclear program.

Ties were strained by Tehran's jailing of Iranian-born Canadians. Iran does not recognize dual nationality and authorities have denied Canadian detainees consular protection.

In July, Iran and global powers reached a deal in Vienna that saw sanctions lifted this weekend.

On Sunday, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion told the Globe and Mail newspaper that Ottawa would decide "in a timely fashion" whether to also lift sanctions in order to allow Canadian companies to join US and EU firms rushing to do business in Iran.

"Because if other countries move before us, it's not a way to help our industry," he said, adding that Canadian sanctions alone would not be very effective.