I don't think it is entirely out of convenience. If edx gets shut down or faces fines for violating the US sanctions on Iran it hurts their broader goal of supp

I don't think it is entirely out of convenience. If edx gets shut down or faces fines for violating the US sanctions on Iran it hurts their broader goal of support global education. I can understand it is frustrating being in Iran and not having access to the course materials, but from the perspective of edx providing these materials in Iran might not be the hill they want to die on. I think there might be space for a smaller company/non-profit to test this. If your organization's sole mission is to provide this content to Iranians. The legal uncertainty could provide a big enough moat to establish yourself.