NICOSIA – The European Union warned Friday that any new agreement with Iran could be weaker than the 2015 nuclear deal if US-Iran talks proceed without nuclear experts.

"If the talks are only about the nuclear and there are no nuclear experts around the table, then we will end up with an agreement that is weaker than the JCPOA was," said Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign policy chief.

Kallas made the remarks as EU leaders gathered in Cyprus to discuss the economic and security fallout from the Middle East conflict on Thursday and Friday.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear agreement, known as the Iran nuclear deal, was a landmark agreement struck in 2015 between Iran and the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China, Germany and the EU.

Under the deal, Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. However, the United States withdrew from the deal during the first term of US President Donald Trump.

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Kallas said the leaders stressed that freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz is "non-negotiable" and that the bloc should ramp up its military presence in the region.