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Report from Iran: Part 2 of a series
(See Part 1, August 1)

Before the Islamic Revolution of 1979, Iranian graduate students and academics frequently studied or worked in the United States. That year, for example, the 51,300 Iranian students in the United States were the single largest group of foreign students in the country. Many, if not most, Iranian professors received their doctorates from American universities and retained strong American ties.But decades of Islamist rule, war, and ever-changing governments have harmed Iran's international standing.  As a result, Iranian higher education remains largely on the margins of internationalization. Today fewer than 3,000 Iranian students come to the United States each year. And academics who maintain external connections often do so despite considerable hurdles.