How Biden Can Safely Help Iran’s Economy

After the assassination of its top nuclear scientist last week, the leadership of the Islamic Republic is expected to hold off domestic pressures for retribution, and instead hold out for some consideration from the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden. The regime knows any retaliatory strike — whether directly against Israel, which it blames for Mohsen Fakhrizadeh’s killing, or more symbolically against American or Arab targets — will greatly complicate its efforts to get out of the straitjacket imposed by President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign.

Iran desperately needs access to money to shore up an economy devastated by the combined effect of Trump’s sanctions and the pandemic. For Tehran, the immediate access to capital is a precondition for any negotiations with the new dispensation in Washington. Biden, for all that he wants a return to diplomacy, can loosen the straps only so much: His own hands are tied by strong opposition at home and pressure from American allies in the Middle East.