[thorn]

This is very sad news. Restricting education access for some people looks like very bad move for whole MOOC community. I wonder what made them to do that? Would Coursera be sanctioned or even close otherwise?

I wonder what is the process how those restriction are being applied to the company and what are the consequences if you not follow this (law)?

[azernik]

Yes - they would be violating US sanctions on the countries in question, and would be subject to heavy fines. For an example of a company being penalized for violating these sanctions, see http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/rbs-iran-sanctions-fine-ross-mcewan...