Deep South calls in Iran to cure its health blues

AS Marie Pryor shuffles along a Mississippi roadside collecting discarded drink cans to sell for a few cents, her breath comes in short puffs caused by a congenital heart defect. The same condition caused her granddaughter's death earlier this year. The last place on earth she would look for help is Iran, a country widely regarded in America as the enemy. The US and Iran have not had diplomatic relations for 30 years and the two governments trade daily insults over Iran's nuclear programme. Last week Tehran charged three American hikers with espionage after they apparently strayed across the border. But with Congress acrimoniously debating the reform of healthcare, it is to Iran that one of America's poorest communities is turning to try to resolve its own health crisis.