{"id":7061,"date":"2026-09-13T20:01:55","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T20:01:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/?p=7061"},"modified":"2026-09-13T20:01:55","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T20:01:55","slug":"iranian-students-in-limbo-as-sanctions-halt-gre-toefl-tests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/2026\/09\/13\/iranian-students-in-limbo-as-sanctions-halt-gre-toefl-tests\/","title":{"rendered":"Iranian students in limbo as sanctions halt GRE, TOEFL tests"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Link to Article: https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/us-sanctions-halt-toefl-and-gre-tests-in-iran-disrupting-study-plans\/a-78764639<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

War is not the only thing threatening the people of Iran right now. The United States’ Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) suspended one of their sanction exemptions against Iran, called General License G, making it so Iranian citizens can no longer take the TOEFL or GRE tests, two English fluency exams needed to study internationally. Because of this, the only option for taking these exams is traveling to other nearby countries, such as Armenia or Turkey. However, most Iranian families do not have the money to do so, as these tests are much more expensive outside Iran. These tests will not be reinstated any time soon, leaving Iranians with large obstacles between them and studying abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The implications of this sanction change stretch far beyond simply academics. Barring Iranian students from taking these exams means they won’t be able to study internationally until the exams are reinstated. This, in turn, severely limits job opportunities for Iranian citizens outside the Islamic Republic. Those who want better lives for themselves and their families outside of Iran are more or less out of luck. The ongoing war combined with Iran’s already restrictive government makes it extremely difficult to find job opportunities within<\/em> Iran. Taking away access to these exams puts the people of Iran in a very tight corner when it comes to employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This sanction change is an offshoot of Operation Economic Outcast, an American attempt to cripple the Iranian economy from all sides. Both America and Iran have been firm in their stances for the entirety of the war. The United States is not going to reinstate this exemption unless Iran gives them full access (or almost full) to the Strait of Hormuz, which is not going to happen any time soon. So, America and Iran are at a stalemate. The only kind of retaliation I could envision in response to this economic action is more warfare, which would not change the situation in Iran in regards to these exams. Therefore, Iranian citizens may simply be running out of time and options before they take a stance against this war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As shown in the article, this sanction change was a large success in the eyes of the United States. The next step, then, is to limit the amount of other states where Iranian citizens could take the TOEFL or GRE exams. This could mean using its power as a UN “VIP” to influence surrounding countries, such as Turkey, Armenia, or the United Arab Emirates, to take away Iranian access to these exams and, hopefully, hasten an end to the war. However, I believe that, at this point, Iran and the United States are too set in their ways to have their conflict solved by an IGO. The war will only end with one country or the other exerting nearly complete power over the Strait of Hormuz. However, that power will always seem illegitimate in the eyes of one side, so the world will simply have to wait.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Link to Article: https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/us-sanctions-halt-toefl-and-gre-tests-in-iran-disrupting-study-plans\/a-78764639 War is not the only thing threatening the people of Iran right now. The United States’ Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) suspended one of their sanction exemptions against Iran, called General License G, making it so Iranian citizens can no longer take the TOEFL or GRE tests, two English fluency exams needed to study internationally…. Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":364,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-analysis-post"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/364"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7061"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7061\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7077,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7061\/revisions\/7077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}