Iranian students hoping to study abroad are facing a new obstacle after TOEFL and GRE testing was suspended inside the country following changes to US sanctions regulations. "My entire plan was built around taking this exam," a TOEFL candidate in Tehran told DW. She said she had spent months preparing applications for a PhD program, contacting professors and gathering documents despite internet disruptions and other challenges.
ETS, the US-based organization that administers both exams, announced it suspended testing in Iran after the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) froze General License G, which had allowed certain educational services to continue in Iran. "Following OFAC's suspension of General License G, ETS has paused administration of the TOEFL and GRE tests in Iran effective immediately," the organization said in an official notice. ETS added that Iranian nationals can still take the exams outside Iran and that it is exploring options to restore testing.
TOEFL is a US-based English-language proficiency test accepted by universities worldwide. The GRE, also administered by the same US organization, is a standardized test required by some graduate programs, particularly in the United States and Canada. Since the Iran war began in late February, the US has increasingly expanded sanctions targeting Iranian trade and exports, contributing to broader disruptions throughout the Iranian economy.
An Iranian institution that administered TOEFL exams told DW that new registrations had stopped following the latest sanctions changes. The institution added that the suspension could be temporary, but no date had been given for exams to resume. That uncertainty is particularly serious for students approaching university and scholarship deadlines who have spent months preparing documents, contacting professors and paying application-related costs.
The suspension follows earlier problems with IELTS (British equivalent of TOEFL) testing in Iran. An IELTS center in Tehran told DW that sanctions-related difficulties transferring money had become one of the main obstacles to continuing exams. Some Iranian applicants had already been traveling to countries such as Turkey and Armenia to take IELTS.
TOEFL and GRE candidates may now have to do the same. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Alireza, who is preparing to apply to a university in Italy, said the suspension of TOEFL had disrupted a backup plan he had arranged after IELTS testing became unavailable. "European universities usually accept IELTS.
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