Iran said on Monday it cannot confirm holding secret talks with France over Tehran's disputed ballistic missile programme as French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian had said on Friday.

Le Drian said that France was ready to impose further sanctions on Iran if no progress was made in talks over its ballistic missile program.

"I cannot confirm it ... Our missile programme is a defensive programme that we only discuss inside the country," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi told a weekly news conference, broadcast live on state TV.