If the INSTEX mechanism is open to third countries and to transactions with Iranian oil, then the chances of saving the JCPOA will increase, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stated.

"As for increasing the production of heavy water by Iran, it is not so rapid as to turn it into the most pressing, acute and urgent problem", Ryabkov said ahead of the meeting of the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

The extraordinary meeting will be held on 28 July in Vienna.

"Of course, INSTEX will be discussed, but there are a lot of other issues. All projects that are being implemented and experiencing difficulties, including those related to the US threats and the direct application of sanctions — Fordow, Arak and the rest — of course, will be the main topics", Ryabkov said.

The statement comes after Tehran announced in May that it had partially discontinued its commitments under the 2015 multilateral nuclear deal following the United States exit from the accord a year prior. Iran gave Europe 60 days to ensure that the nations interests were protected under the agreement, pledging to otherwise further curb its obligations.

INSTEX is a mechanism created by the European Union to simplify trade with Iran amid wide-ranging sanctions that the United States imposed on Tehran after unilaterally withdrawing from the JCPOA last year. The European Union said last month that INSTEX was now operational and that its first transactions were being processed. The mechanism is available to all EU members and will soon be accessible to economic operators from other countries.