1. Introduction
In recent decades, health has increasingly become an important component of international relations and foreign policy. The growing cross-border nature of health challenges, international mobility, medical tourism, and scientific exchange has contributed to the emergence of health diplomacy as a mechanism for linking health objectives with foreign-policy priorities. Through health diplomacy, medical services, scientific cooperation, knowledge exchange, and professional networks can contribute to trust-building and the development of relations between countries.
For the Islamic Republic of Iran, health diplomacy offers an important opportunity to strengthen relations with neighboring countries. Iran has developed substantial capacities through the expansion of medical universities, specialized hospitals, research institutions, and trained human resources. Nevertheless, existing studies indicate that Iran has not yet fully institutionalized these capacities within a coherent health-diplomacy strategy, and many activities remain fragmented or reactive.
Women’s health, obstetrics, gynecology, and infertility treatment are particularly suitable areas for such cooperation. These fields require specialized expertise, advanced technologies, and sustained physician–patient relationships. Iran possesses significant capabilities in reproductive medicine and assisted reproductive technologies, while neighboring countries face different levels of need for specialized reproductive and maternal-health services. This study therefore examines the capacity of Iranian specialists in obstetrics, gynecology, and infertility to function as actors of health diplomacy and explores how these capacities can contribute to advancing Iran’s neighborhood policy.
2. Methodology
The study adopts a qualitative, inductive, and descriptive-interpretive approach. It is based on the analysis and synthesis of academic studies, international reports, and available evidence concerning health diplomacy, medical diplomacy, soft power, medical tourism, reproductive health, infertility, and assisted reproductive technologies.
The theoretical framework combines health diplomacy, neighborhood policy, and Joseph Nye’s theory of soft power. In the proposed model, the scientific and professional capacities of Iranian specialists constitute the primary resources. These capacities enter international relations through health-diplomacy mechanisms such as specialized medical services, scientific and educational cooperation, knowledge transfer, professional networking, and joint health programs.
3. Results
The findings demonstrate that Iran possesses several complementary capacities that can support health diplomacy in women’s health and reproductive medicine. First, the country has an integrated system of medical education, research, and healthcare delivery. Universities of medical sciences and affiliated hospitals provide opportunities for specialists to combine clinical services with education, research, professional training, and international scientific cooperation.
Second, Iran has significant experience in infertility treatment and assisted reproductive technologies. A national assessment identified 52 assisted reproductive technology centers in 2011, with approximately 29,000 IUI cycles and 35,000 IVF/ICSI cycles performed during that year. Several centers also offered advanced services, including gamete and embryo donation, cryopreservation, and infertility-related surgery.
Third, Iran already receives a substantial number of foreign patients. The number of foreign patients visiting Iranian hospitals increased from approximately 19,000 in 2014 to more than 129,000 in 2019. Women’s and obstetric services represented 18% of foreign-patient diagnostic categories in 2019, indicating substantial existing international demand.
The analysis of neighboring countries demonstrates that their needs are diverse. Iraq represents a major potential target because of its reproductive-health needs, geographical proximity, cultural connections, and existing demand for infertility treatment. Türkiye, which possesses a relatively developed healthcare system, offers greater potential for specialized services, scientific cooperation, research, and professional exchange than for addressing general service shortages. Azerbaijan provides opportunities for specialized reproductive-health services and institutional cooperation, while Armenia offers potential cooperation in infertility treatment, fertility preservation, and reproductive medicine.
Afghanistan faces major challenges related to maternal health, limited access to healthcare, shortages of human resources, and humanitarian conditions; therefore, cooperation can include both treatment and capacity building. Pakistan also demonstrates considerable needs in maternal and reproductive health and infertility treatment. Turkmenistan offers opportunities for cooperation because of geographical proximity and reproductive-health needs, although limited available data restrict precise assessment of unmet infertility needs.
Overall, the needs of neighboring countries can be classified into three levels: direct specialized medical services; education, knowledge transfer, and capacity building; and scientific cooperation and regional networking.
4. Discussion
The findings indicate that Iranian specialists in obstetrics, gynecology, and infertility can be regarded as human capital capable of being transformed into diplomatic capital. This transformation can occur through specialized treatment of foreign patients, professional and hospital referral networks, joint research, specialist exchange, scientific conferences, training programs, and transfer of medical knowledge.
From the perspective of soft power, the importance of these activities extends beyond healthcare provision. Direct interaction between Iranian physicians, patients, and foreign healthcare professionals can generate trust and improve perceptions of Iran’s scientific and professional capabilities. Long-term professional and institutional relationships can also create networks of cooperation that extend beyond individual medical encounters.
However, medical capacity does not automatically produce diplomatic influence. Without appropriate institutional coordination and strategic planning, international medical services may remain isolated transactions or forms of medical tourism. Medical tourism can be an entry point for health diplomacy, but it should not be considered equivalent to health diplomacy. The strategic objective should be to transform individual treatment relationships into sustainable scientific, professional, and institutional cooperation.
Accordingly, the study proposes an intersectoral mechanism involving the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Health, universities of medical sciences, hospitals, scientific associations, infertility centers, and the private sector. It also recommends establishing a regional network of women’s health and infertility specialists and institutions to facilitate patient referral, specialist exchange, education, research, and scientific cooperation.
The strategy should also be adapted to the specific conditions of each neighboring country. Countries facing shortages of specialized services may require capacity building and professional training, whereas countries with high demand for infertility treatment may benefit from formal referral mechanisms. In relatively advanced systems such as Türkiye, scientific cooperation, research, and professional exchange may be more appropriate than competition for patients. Ethical standards, patient safety, confidentiality, informed consent, and respect for legal and cultural differences should also constitute essential elements of the strategy.
5. Conclusion
The study concludes that Iran possesses considerable potential to employ its capacities in women’s health, obstetrics, gynecology, and infertility treatment as instruments of health diplomacy and neighborhood policy. The combination of specialized human resources, medical and research infrastructure, experience in assisted reproductive technologies, geographical proximity, and cultural connections with neighboring societies provides a strong foundation for regional cooperation.
The central finding is that Iranian specialists should not be viewed solely as healthcare providers. When incorporated into an appropriate institutional and policy framework, they can become active actors in health diplomacy. Their activities can generate medical and economic benefits while simultaneously contributing to scientific cooperation, interpersonal trust, institutional networking, and positive perceptions of Iran.
The proposed model therefore recommends moving from a fragmented and treatment-oriented approach toward a strategic, network-based, and diplomacy-oriented framework. Such a framework should integrate specialized medical services, professional education, knowledge transfer, joint research, regional networking, and formal referral mechanisms.
Ultimately, the systematic integration of Iranian medical expertise into health diplomacy can transform women’s health and reproductive medicine from primarily treatment-based activities into a broader instrument of trust-building, scientific cooperation, soft power, and regional engagement. This approach can simultaneously support the development of Iran’s health economy, improve regional health cooperation, and contribute to the advancement of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s neighborhood policy through a human-centered and relatively low-tension form of international engagement.