According to Coursera's recent blog post [1] there has recently been a change to the interpretation of export control regulations which led to Coursera being forced to add an IP block for all addresses originating from Cuba, Syria, Iran and Sudan.
This is a poorly executed display of foreign policy in that Coursera's only objective is to spread high-quality education to the masses; there is no information on Coursera that could be potentially harming to the State. We are sending the message that we have no regard for the well being of the general citizenry of foreign countries and that we wish to tyrannize their resources. This should be revised to allow basic human rights such as education.
[1]: http://blog.coursera.org/post/74891215298/update-on-course-accessibility...