evidence: President Biden has not lifted most of the sanctions imposed on Iran by his predecessor. Yet the lack of enforcement of existing sanctions, particularly on crude oil exports, has already provided some relief to Iran’s economy. It was brought to the brink of collapse under the previous administration’s "maximum pressure" enforcement of sanctions when oil exports dwindled to estimated lows of less than 0.5 million barrels/day, a small fraction of its pre-sanction volumes. The value of the Iranian rial currency fell by more than half in 2020 alone and the country faced one of its worst budget deficits since the theocracy came into power four decades ago. According to a regional economic survey, the Islamic Republic had only $4 billion of foreign exchange reserves in 2020, down from $122.5 billion in 2018. Last week, a leaked IRGC document warned of social discontent in Iran rising to "a state of explosion" driven by a deteriorating economy beset by years of crippling U.S. sanctions and domestic corruption and mismanagement. [...] In what seems yet another pre-emptive concession to Iran — like the lifting of the "terrorist organization" designation of the Houthis over a year ago — Secretary of State Antony Blinken restored on Friday sanctions waivers which allow foreign companies to work on Iranian civilian nuclear projects and include the unfreezing of an estimated $29 billion in bank accounts overseas. The Trump Administration had rescinded the waivers in 2020.