How U.S. sanctions are shattering Iranian students’ dreams

When Nikki learned that her English exam had been canceled, the 32-year-old Iranian cried alone in her room. She had planned to take the test in September, then begin a new life studying psychology at a European university.

“Now all my plans are on hold,” she said. Nikki, who works at a pastry shop in Lahijan in northern Iran, is desperately searching for another way to take the TOEFL, which some universities require from students whose first language is not English.

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When I found out that the test session had been canceled, I did not leave my room because I cried so much.

ETS, the organization that administers the exam, says it had to suspend test sessions in Iran after the U.S. Treasury stopped issuing the licenses required to hold them. Iranian applicants can still take the test, but only if they travel to other countries. Local media report that alternative exams, including the Pearson Test of English and Duolingo, have also been suspended in Iran.

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Now all my plans are on hold.

Traveling abroad to sit the exam is beyond the reach of many Iranians. Their incomes have been weakened by decades of international sanctions and have fallen further since the war launched in late February by the Israeli-American offensive against Tehran. The rial has depreciated to 2.2 million to the dollar, while annual inflation reached 89% in August.

Nikki is trying to secure a loan so she can take the exam in neighboring Armenia. “I will use the money I was supposed to spend at the dentist for this trip,” she said. On Telegram, groups have formed to share advice on the cheapest options. In one group with more than 24,000 members, users compare Armenia, Iraq and Turkey. “Going to Turkey? That is for rich people who can afford the plane,” one user wrote.

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Going to Turkey? That is for rich people who can afford the plane.

Iran has condemned the suspension, saying it punishes “all Iranian citizens.” Science Minister Hosein Simai Sarraf called the decision “worthy of the Stone Age.” Leila, who had been admitted to a master’s program in arts in Berlin, said she could not afford to take the exam abroad. “Financially, it is too expensive for me,” she said.

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Worthy of the Stone Age