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Iran kicked off 2021 by seizing a South Korean tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. It also announced its return to 20 percent uranium enrichment, which is a massive breach of the 2015 nuclear deal it signed with world powers. However, a recent law passed by Iran’s hawkish Parliament states that Iran should increase its nuclear programme, in what could be a warning to the incoming Joe Biden administration.

Mr Biden said he wants to return to some form of the 2015 deal.

But Tehran is expected to demand compensation for the economic damage caused by sanctions and other US concessions during the last few years while Donald Trump was US President.

Sanam Vakil, deputy head of Chatham House’s MENA Programme, said: “This is a double edged sword, both for the Iranians and the Biden administration.

“The Iranians are wary of returning to the table too quickly, while for Biden, the optics are quite difficult to justify giving in to the Islamic Republic and giving in to pressure tactics, particularly in light of the past criticism of the deal.”

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Anne Harrington, professor of international relations and a specialist in nuclear non-proliferation at Cardiff University in Wales, told CNBC: “Iran appears to be trying to maximise its leverage with the Biden administration in the hope that the US will agree to re-enter, rather than attempt to renegotiate, the JCPOA.”

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