MOSCOW (Nezavisimaya Gazeta) — The United States has softened its position on Iran, dropping the demand that the United Nations restore international sanctions against the country. Tehran has been given a clear signal that Iran-friendly Joe Biden is ready to search for compromises, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes.

It was President Donald Trump that had called for the restoration of all international sanctions on Iran, which had been lifted under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015. Candidate Biden criticized that position during his election campaign. Along with China and Russia, other participants in the nuclear deal — the United Kingdom, France and Germany — also opposed restrictions against Tehran. And now, Chargé d’Affaires of the United States of America to the United Nations Richard Mills announced that Washington was rescinding the Trump administration’s assertion concerning international sanctions on Iran. He said in a letter to the UN Security Council that Biden had a different stance on the issue.

“Biden is indeed interested in restoring the nuclear deal. The JCPOA was made during his time as vice president in the Barack Obama administration. If Biden now refuses to restore the nuclear deal, he will lose to Trump, actually confirming his claim that there had been no need for the deal”, Director of the Franklin Roosevelt Foundation for United States Studies at Moscow State University Yuri Rogulev pointed out.

At the same time, Mills’ letter should not be viewed as proof of Biden’s willingness to make unilateral concessions. If Iran fails to make steps to meet the U.S. halfway, at least by lifting its ban on the International Atomic Energy Agency’s random inspections, then the negotiating process will stall once again.

“Let’s not forget that Iran wants Biden to remove the previously imposed sanctions, and it’s not an easy thing to do. It’s much easier for the U.S. to impose restrictions than to lift them. There needs to be strong reasons to take such a step and Biden is perfectly aware of this”, the expert concluded.