The irony of this story is cruel, if not surreal. The subject's access to medicines has been impeded by US sanctions on Iran, imposed because of Iran's suspected movement toward a nuclear weapons program (of which there is no evidence).
If Iran was in fact moving toward a weapons program, it would be to join the nuclear club, gain instant prestige, and enjoy a relationship with the United States based on different footing. (That this would undoubtedly irritate Israel would be an added bonus.) But again, Tehran is very likely not taking this route.
All the same, the United States has made it rather clear - especially in the Middle East - that if you stand apart from Washington, it is incumbent upon you to join the club.
Iraq of course learned this the hard way and suffered invasion and occupation for basically a decade. However, Saddam Hussein wasn't always an enemy. When he invaded Iran in 1980, eventually unleashing chemical weapons (partly supplied by the United States), he was becoming a US client. He only became an enemy when he invaded Kuwait in 1990; Kuwait wanted Saddam to pay back the money it fronted Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88), which Saddam felt was unreasonable.
From 1991 to 2011, through crippling sanctions and two wars, the Iraqi people were shown just how important credibility is to Washington.
So as the United States gears up for what looks like a probable attack on Syria, part of the expected calculus is sending a message to Tehran that Washington means business (see postscript). Yet, Iran is perfectly aware that Washington means business. And it knows what it is capable of. And the people know what it is capable of. Ahmad in this article certainly does.
(See also Jan. 11, Aug. 5, 2013, blog posts)
http://www.theguardian.com/world/iran-blog/2013/sep/02/iran-chemical-weapons-wmd-sanctions
PS. Despite the White House's presumed interest in sending Iran a message by attacking Syria, it seems Iran is cooling slightly on Syria, while US-Iran relations could possibly be warming:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/03/world/middleeast/drawing-a-line-on-syria-us-eyes-iran-talks.html
