The Obama administration has exempted nearly a dozen countries from sanctions intended to punish countries that purchase oil from Iran. The waiver will apply to Japan and 10 other European nations. The move came as President Obama delivered his annual message to the Iranian people on the Persian New Year of Nowruz. In his statement, Obama said the United States is seeking to reach out to Iran’s people despite imposing crippling sanctions.

President Obama: “Even as we’ve imposed sanctions on the Iranian government, today my administration is issuing new guidelines to make it easier for American businesses to provide software and services into Iran that will make it easier for the Iranian people to use the Internet. The United States will continue to draw attention to the electronic curtain that is cutting the Iranian people off from the world. And we hope that others will join us in advancing a basic freedom for the Iranian people: the freedom to connect with one another and with their fellow human beings.”