Find out why medical tourism is to be big business in Iran

Nowadays, medical tourism is considered as a booming industry on the global scene as some 20 to 24 million patients are traveling for medical treatments annually. Estimates on market size vary but the Patients Without Borders publishing group puts its value at around €60 to €80 billion worldwide.

Rising healthcare costs, increased care needs over longer lifespans, and constant pressures on some insurance industries are amongst reasons behind why some patients opt to travel to destinations like Iran that have been able to invest rapidly in their healthcare infrastructure in order to satisfy surging demands.

The country has set its goals to exceed its yearly medical travelers to around 2 million in [calendar year] 1404 (March 2025-March 2026).

But why Iran? Here we briefly try to answer. Iran boasts credible surgeons and physicians, cutting-edge medical technologies, high-tech medicine and diverse specializations, super affordable procedures within a trusted health system, and finally it is home to many hospitable people.

According to official figures, Iranian hospitals admitted 70,000 foreign patients over the last [Iranian calendar] year (March 2018 – March 2019). Some 90 percent of foreign patients in Iran are from Afghanistan, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and other countries around the Persian Gulf.

Iran hosted a record high of nearly 600,000 medical travelers during the first four months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-July 21), nearly equal to the figure for the whole past year.

Visit Health highlights benefits of pursuing medical treatments in Iran in what follows:

Medicine in Iran: A bit of history

Iran (or Persia) has long been a major center for the development of medical knowledge so that just a few traditional medical schools in the ancient world have been as comprehensive as Iranian medical schools.

Hippocrates, the father of Greek medical science, admits how some of his medical theoretical foundations have been adapted from the ancient Iranians.

Long history and advanced civilization together with a hunger for immortality paved the way for medical knowledge to flourish in Iran.

Ancient medical schools founded in Iran such as Gondishapur have been teaching medicine for thousands of years. And Physicians such as Avicenna have been in the vanguards of medical development through centuries.

A pocket-friendly destination

The number of medical travelers around the world is rapidly growing. There are 3 major reasons for this growth:

-        to lower the cost of treatment and save money;

-        to access specific medical procedures which do not exist in one’s own country; and

-        to visit a doctor with a special reputation.

World-class hospitals & clinics

Iran has hundreds of hospitals with a wide range of advanced medical technology, offering high-tech medicine and diverse specializations.

Credible doctors and nurses

Iran has a reputation for having experienced and skillful doctors. They are strictly trained and should also continuously equip themselves with the latest medical knowledge of the day.

Trusted health system

Medical specialists must pass extensive training and obtain professional certifications from Iran Medical Council and the Ministry of Health before they can be allowed to perform medical and surgical treatments. Hospitals and clinics are also overseen by authorities.

Advanced medical facilities

Medical and surgical facilities available in Iranian hospitals are also highly developed. Iran is known for its innovative hospital equipment and superior medical engineering. Almost all of Iran’s private hospitals have high level of imaging facilities, specialized clinics, 3D ultrasound, MRI, etc.

Great affordability

The cost of medical services in Iran is approximately a third of similar health care services in countries like UK and the U.S. As Iranian rial is suffering from unprecedented devaluation, treatments in Iran is very cheap.

No wait lists

You can obtain swift access to medical treatments and services you need.

Legendry hospitality

Iranians are known for their authentic hospitality and the love of outsiders. This spirit is easily felt in the medical travel industry. In Iran you feel like home!

A must-see tourist destination

Iran with a history of more than 5000 years is home to some of the oldest places and traditions. Iran with 23 UNESCO world heritage sites and dazzling natural landscapes should be the next destination on your travel bucket list.

Popular treatments

Iran as a medical tourism destination has credibility in various medical fields. These include (but are not limited to):

Infertility treatment

Cancer treatment

Cosmetic Surgery

Pre IVF Consultations and Investigations

Orthopedics – Joint Replacement

Dental Treatments

Orthopedic surgery

Neurology and neurosurgery

Cardiology and cardiac surgery

Obesity treatment

Ophthalmology

Iran is also one of the top destinations for disease diagnosis and comprehensive health check-ups.

Beyond medical needs!

In addition to the medical tourism facilities and conditions mentioned above, Iran also is an attractive destination for health and wellness services such as spas therapy, preventative care, rehabilitation and the treatment of chronic diseases. There are about 300 mineral-rich springs across the nation with the ability to develop as health towns, water therapies, hotel therapies, etc.

What to expect!

Rigid laws and regulations in the Iranian medical system support the health and safety of the healthcare environments in the country.

A hygienic environment and the clear, up to par outcomes of medical practices are the least that international patients can expect from Iranian hospitals.

Full medical consultation and comprehensive follow-up care are some of the things that can be expected when you go to Iranian hospitals or doctors.

Hospitals that work in the international healthcare market are required to obtain necessary licenses from the Ministry of Health under the IPD (international patient department) license. This license requires hospitals to comply with international standards for the provision of health services to medical tourists.

Final words!

The history of medicine in Iran is rich. The presence of highly qualified and well-known specialist and doctors, safe and low-cost procedures, along with a variety of tourist attractions in the country are sufficient to attract medical tourists in the region and from across the world to Iran.

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• Medical tourism
 
• Health tourism
 
• Afshin Majlesi
 
• Travel
 
• hospitality
 
• patients
 
• Hospital
 
• Iran
 
• eye surgeon
 
• exemplary physicians
 
• cutting-edge
 
• medicine
 
• affordable
 
• pocket-friendly
 
• Iraq
 
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• Persian Gulf

U.S. officials vow to intensify Iran sanctions in 2020

TEHRAN — U.S. State Department officials have said Washington’s maximum pressure policy against Iran will intensify in 2020.

“There will be more sanctions to come, and Iran’s economic problems and challenges are going to compound in 2020,” a senior State Department official said Monday, according to CNBC.

“They are already deep into a recession, and we are also seeing Iran come under greater diplomatic isolation.”

Another senior State Department official was quoted by CNBC as saying that the Trump administration has sanctioned approximately 1,000 individuals and entities.

“What we are doing is denying the regime the revenue that it needs to run an expansionist foreign policy, and by that policy, Iran has less money to spend today than it did almost three years ago when we came into office,” the official said.

U.S. President Donald Trump has adopted a maximum pressure policy against Iran since he walked away from the JCPOA. The policy includes sanctions on Iran’s economy, especially its oil exports, and bans on top Iranian figures and organizations. At the same time, the U.S. president has pushed for talks with Tehran.

Iranian leaders have openly rejected the notion of talks with the U.S. as long as its illegal sanctions against Tehran are in place.

Under the JCPOA, Iran had agreed to put limits on its nuclear activities in exchange for termination of economic and financial sanctions.

Tehran has described the U.S. sanctions as “economic terrorism”. 

Trump himself has used the term “economic war” on Iran.

On Monday, U.S. special representative for Iran Brian Hook also emphasized that the Trump administration will continue its maximum pressure campaign in 2020.

Hook said the Islamic Republic is facing the worst financial crisis and political unrest in its 40-year history and in 2020 will face an even more difficult period.

“What we saw was an erosion of deterrence of Iran for the many years preceding president’s election three years ago,” he said, according to Radio Farda. 

On Monday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the enemies have realized that they cannot bring Iran to its knees through maximum pressure.

“Their entire goal was to get us to the negotiating table so that we resign ourselves to whatever demand they have, but this is impossible in our Islamic Iran,” Press TV quoted Rouhani as saying.

Washington is engaged in an all-out economic war against the Islamic Republic, Rouhani said, adding, “It is wartime now and we haven’t either chosen or begun this war.”

The president added, “We have not even given a pretext for this war.”

TAGS

• U.S.
 
• State Department
 
• Sanctions

Objectives and impacts of U.S. aggression on Hashd al-Shaabi’s bases

By Morteza Helali

TEHRAN - The U.S. Army fighter jets targeted several bases of the Iraqi popular forces of Hashd al-Shaabi at border with Syria on Sunday evening.

In a statement, the U.S. defense secretary confirmed the attacks. Now this is the question: Which objectives had the U.S. been seeking from the attacks?

The U.S. lives in fear of expansion of mutual cooperation between Iraq and Syria, especially in security and economic fields, therefor, Washington has concentrated on sealing Iraq-Syria common borders and passageways via targeting military positions in Iraq and Syria as well as providing support for the existing terrorists and creating fresh terrorist group.

Keeping the terrorist groups protected and providing backup for them are among the U.S. main objectives as a number of reports have been released about relocation of terrorists from Syria into Iraq or vice versa. In the meantime, the U.S. has raided the Iraqi army several times to provide support for the terrorist groups in the country. 

Certainly, weakening Iraq and turning it into a crisis-hit country to pave the ground for the U.S. to impose its will on Baghdad can be considered as another objective that Washington is seeking in its forces’ recent attacks on Iraq. Weakening the Iraqi popular forces and damaging relations and cooperation between the country’s army and the popular forces are also among the main objectives of such plots. 

Other dimensions of the U.S. recent plot against Iraq can be mentioned as spreading chaos and turning peaceful protests of the Iraqis into violence, destabilizing Iraq’s political situation via interfering in the trend of forming the country’s new government, weakening Iraq’s security forces through conducting attacks on the Army centers and Hashd al-Shaabi’s bases and cutting Iraq’s ties with its neighboring countries including with Iran.
    
The U.S. new plot is also aimed at deviating public opinion from critical situation of the Zionist regime of Israel as well as appeasing the Zionist lobby to continue supporting Donald Trump who is facing the congress impeachment.
The U.S. has proved that it is the number one supporter of terrorism. Washington’s claim of campaign against terrorism is only a deception that is why their claimed military coalitions in the Persian Gulf and in the Bab al-Mandab Strait have brought about nothing but enhancing terrorism.   

The U.S. has not been a savior but it has been disruptor of the region’s security and stability. The U.S. officials’ secret trips to Iraq have certainly roots in their fear from the Iraqis’ rage against Americans’ crisis-making behaviors.

Widespread supports of popular and political groups as well as the country’s religious authorities for Hashd al-Shaabi in face of the U.S. aggressive policies are testifying nationwide trust of Iraqis to the resistance forces which in turn shows failure of the White House’s anti-resistance project.  

TAGS

• Hashd al-Shaabi
 
• U.S. Army
 
• Iraq

Musical instruments exhibition

Iranian makers of musical instruments opened an exhibition to showcase their art products and present explanations about Iranian and classical musical instruments, Tehran, Iran, December 30, 2019. IRNA/Asghar Khamseh

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Overview of the year 2019

Crescent International

As the year 2019 comes to an end, we offer our overview of crucial events that are likely to come up in 2020.

One of the key strategic occurrences of 2019 was the evident division among NATO regimes on important matters like Turkey’s role in the military alliance, Washington’s tensions with Russia, EU’s interactions with Islamic Iran and Brexit. All these have contributed greatly to the erosion of Washington’s global influence and the emergence of a multi-polar global order.

In 2020, these differences will only increase. It will contribute to the emergence of events like France’s Yellow Vest protests and a further split and greater tensions between the left and right of the Western political spectrum.

In the Muslim world, the key issue remains the Saudi dagger in the back of the Muslim Ummah in a multifaceted aspect. From infusion of regressive Wahhabi ideas into Islamic scholarship to evolving tensions among the Saudi royals and their humiliation in Yemen, this passing year turned the Saudi regime into a volcano about to burst. This is something the Muslim street is impatiently waiting for.

There are two key events of 2019 that should be kept in mind. First is the formation of the KL Summit in Malaysia, a symbolic alternative to the OIC.

The key practical proposal of the KL summit was to begin trading in gold and the barter of goods is a crucial development that will influence events in 2020.

Turkey’s offer to send in troops to Libya to assist the UN recognized government against the CIA-backed warlord Khalifa Haftar is an important last-minute development of 2019.

This policy will further escalate tensions between the UAE, the Saudi regime and the Egyptian autocracy on one side and Turkey and Qatar on the other.

In any confrontation with the despotic trio, the Muslim street will by default back the last seat of the Caliphate, due to its government having far greater popular legitimacy than the UAE, Saudi and Egyptian regimes collectively.

The people of Yemen sealed the humiliation of the Saudi regime in 2019 and the Bani Saud will gradually begin to scale down their aggression on Yemen. The attack on Aramco facilities was a mini-show of what the West’s war against Islamic Iran can do: affect the entire world on a dramatic scale.

Europe and US’s efforts to secure Western energy needs through pipelines not under direct Russian control is another key development of 2019 that will have serious ramifications on Central Asia and beyond.

Renewed pipeline politics in Central Asia is one of the great geopolitical events of 2019, whose ramifications are yet to be felt.

Islamic Iran continued to thrive in the crises thrown at it by NATO regimes in 2019 and continued to expand its regional influence.

The past year proved the sustainability of Islamic governance in Iran once again and united the Iranian society and political factions into a more cohesive force not seen in the past few years.

Overall, 2019 is surely going down as the year of resistance against the post-WWII world order. From Latin America to Indonesia, grassroots socio-political organizations are becoming relevant and can upset the powers that be.

Enemies’ Dreams Dealt Another Blow

Iranians Mark ‘Dey 9 Epic’

TEHRAN (Press TV) -- Millions of Iranians from various social strata flocked to the streets across the country Monday to mark the 10th anniversary of mass rallies held on December 30, 2009 to renew allegiance to the Islamic establishment.
People rallied in various cities, including the capital Tehran, to celebrate "Dey 9 epic” which restored tranquility to the nation after months of political wrangling and unrest, and ended what the Iranian authorities described as "sedition” ensuing the presidential election in June of the same year.
Chanting slogans to show absolute dedication to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and against the U.S., the occupying regime of Israel and Britain which played a pivotal role in the 2009 unrest in Iran, the demonstrators carried placards that read, "Death to the seditionists,” and "Economic sedition, Enemy’s new weapon.”
Participants at the commemorative rallies also stressed the necessity for reliance on domestic capacities and implementation of the "economy of resistance” in the face of U.S. sanctions and foreign pressures.
At the end of the rallies, the demonstrators issued a resolution which called on all people to take part in the upcoming parliamentary elections in Iran, urged stronger unity among the Islamic Republic’s three branches of power — namely, executive, legislative and judicial — and asked the Iranian administration to make utmost efforts to resolve the issues of inflation, high prices and unemployment, show more vigilance when signing international agreements and never dread threats posed by enemies.
On December 30, 2009, millions of people took to the streets in Tehran and several other major cities and condemned the foreign-orchestrated unrest, which erupted following the 2009 presidential poll.
Protesters also sought to vent their anger at the incidents that had taken place days earlier in Tehran, where a group of demonstrators offended the sanctities of the Iranian people on the day of Ashura, which marks the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS), the third Shia Imam and grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
The unrest was orchestrated by Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hussein Musavi, two of the candidates who had lost the election, claiming that the results had been rigged. Both remain under house arrest on charges of provoking the public and harming the national security.

Another Grand Display of Revolutionary Resolve Against U.S. Plots

By: Kayhan Int’l 
   
The more the American politicians spew poison against Iran and its growing influence in the region, the more the popular appeal of the Islamic Republic and its wise leadership grows at home and abroad.
The feverish propaganda of Washington, coupled with its policy of economic terrorism and military crimes – as was evident on the Iraq-Syria border on Sunday – instead of scaring away masses from the ideals of the Islamic Revolution, are attracting further support for Iran and the fundamental principle of national sovereignty and the sovereignty of regional countries it espouses.
The slogan "Death to the U.S.” not just echoed throughout the length and breadth of Iran on Monday, December 30, but rent the air of Baghdad and other Iraqi cities, as people made bonfire of the American flag – the symbol of tyranny, sedition, and all satanic ploys.
Yesterday, a month after the marathon marches staged on different days all over the country, culminating in the millions-strong gathering at Tehran’s Inqelab Square on Monday November 25 against the abortive U.S. bid to fuel sedition following the petrol price hike, Iran again witnessed huge nationwide rallies as it marked the 10th anniversary of the historic 9th of the Iranian month of Dey, when millions of people had flooded the streets of Tehran, as well as other cities and towns, to express their support for the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, after having nipped in the bud the plot to cast doubts on the 2009 presidential polls.
Thanks to the sagacity of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, his political prudence and his economic acumen, Iran and those influenced by the Islamic Revolution have continued to deliver thundering blows to the U.S. and its cohorts in sedition, conspiracies, and terrorism.
A glance at events and developments of the past forty years in Iran and the region, makes us realize the prominent role of people in the various social, political, cultural, and economic scenes, much to the chagrin of the enemies. As a matter of fact, Iranian people have turned threats and sanctions into unique opportunities, strengthening the resolve and solidarity of the nation.
As our readers might recall, in 2009 on the eve of the 10th presidential elections in Iran, Global Arrogance, with the US at its head, had drawn extensive plans in a bid to discourage the Iranian masses from casting their votes. When this failed and the people flocked to the ballot boxes in exceptionally large numbers, the West resorted to ‘Plan B’ and instigated some of the poor losers amongst the candidates to question the fairness of the counting of the votes.
At the same time, the West (similar to last November’s sporadic acts of sedition and vandalism in certain towns and cities) kept its cameramen ready to film the violence in some streets perpetrated by its paid agents, in order to give the impression that the Iranian people no longer support the Islamic Revolution and the ideals of Imam Khomeini (RA).
This also failed to the exasperation of Washington, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, making segments of the western media grudgingly admit that the huge rallies indicate the continued fervour and enthusiasm of the masses for Islam, the Islamic Revolution, and the Islamic Republic system.
These frequent grand displays of national unity and Islamic solidarity of the people of Iran, the latest example of which was yesterday’s march by hundreds of thousands of Tehranis from the capital’s Imam Husain Square to the Martyrs’ Square, have astounded the West, to the extent that some of their political observers have started calling for a change in Washington’s self-defeatist hostile approach toward Iran.
In other words, they mean to tell the harebrained administration of Donald Trump that no amount of propaganda, threats, sanctions, acts of terrorism, and support for worthless seditionists, will ever dent the resolve of the Iranian people.
This is indeed among the dynamic points of the Islamic Revolution, which is not confined to the borders of Iran but continues to inspire the freedom loving patriotic people in the countries of the region, much to the chagrin of seditionists on the payroll of the U.S. and its chief banker, Saudi Arabia.
Today Islamic Iran has emerged stronger and more stabilized, while the hypocrites have been exposed in their true colours. Iran and the people of regional countries who share the vision of Islamic unity, are standing shoulder-to-shoulder to defeat all American plots.