US sanctions threaten to crush Iranian students' dreams

US Treasury halts licences for English proficiency tests in Iran, forcing students to travel abroad to sit exams

She had planned to study psychology in Italy, but after United States sanctions forced the suspension of an English exam required in order to make her dream come true, Iranian student Nikki cried for days.

Nikki had been due to take the TOEFL English proficiency test, a key qualification required by many foreign universities, in Iran later this month. Now, like many Iranian students dreaming of a future elsewhere, she is scrambling to find another way to take it, while absorbing the new exam fee and hefty travel costs.

Testing has been frozen in Iran following the latest US sanctions announced in August, part of Washington's "economic asphyxiation" of the country over the Middle East war.

"When I found out that the exam had been cancelled...I did not leave my room for several days because I was crying," said the 32-year-old, who works at a pastry shop in the northern city of Lahijan. "My plans were left hanging midway."

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The US-based Educational Testing Service (ETS), which administers the TOEFL English proficiency test, said the exams were suspended after the US Treasury stopped issuing licences for them. On its website, ETS said Iranians could still travel abroad to take the exams.

Alternatives, including the PTE English proficiency test and the increasingly popular Duolingo online exam, have also been suspended, according to Iranian media.

"We can no longer take any of the exams here," said Nikki.

Only for the rich

But taking the exams abroad is scarcely affordable for many Iranians. Millions have already been struggling for decades under international sanctions, with economic pressures compounded by more than six months of war with the US.

The rial has plunged to record lows, reaching around 2.2 million to the US dollar in recent days, while year-on-year inflation hit 89% for the Iranian month ending August 22, sharply eroding purchasing power.

"I am now trying to get a loan so that I can book the exam and go to a neighbouring country to take it," said Nikki, adding that she was considering Armenia. "The money I was supposed to spend on the health of my teeth now must go toward the exam and the trip," she added.

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In Telegram groups sharing updates and advice about the tests, students were scrambling to find the cheapest and quickest alternatives to complete their applications.

In one group with more than 24,000 members, users weighed travelling to neighbouring Armenia, Iraq or Turkey, while others calculated the mounting costs. One contributor ruled out taking the exam in Istanbul, saying "going there is for the rich who can afford flights".

'Sheer despair'

Iranian officials have condemned the suspension, saying the restrictions showed that Washington was targeting "every Iranian citizen in every field".

Science Minister Hossein Simaei Saraf slammed the move as "'Stone Age' behaviour", an apparent reference to language used by US President Donald Trump when he threatened to send Iran back to the Stone Age.

For Leila, a 32-year-old Tehran resident, news of the cancellations was another blow after she secured a place in a graduate arts programme in Berlin this summer.

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She had already deferred her university offer for a year because of uncertainty surrounding the war, which has persisted despite an April ceasefire that halted its most intense phase.

"I have no plans to take the exam elsewhere; financially, it is not possible for me to take it outside Iran," she told AFP, describing the "sheer despair" among Iranians hoping to study abroad.

With her plans in disarray, Leila said she would probably pursue further study inside Iran instead. "I have learned to make several plans to survive tough situations," she said. "So I will probably go to university here."