The US government will not impose sanctions on Japan and 10 European Union nations that have reduced their oil imports from Iran.
Iran earns more than half of its government revenue from selling oilOrdered by Congress in December, the sanctions aim to punish countries that continue to buy oil from Iran.
China, India and South Korea, major buyers of Iranian oil, were not exempt.
Iran faces international pressure to address concerns over its nuclear enrichment programme.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who announced the exemptions in a statement, said Japan and the EU nations had taken actions that were "not easy".
"They had to rethink their energy needs at a critical time for the world economy and quickly begin to find alternatives to Iranian oil which many had been reliant on for their energy needs."
The European countries that have been exempt are France, Germany, Belgium, Greece, Italy, Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the UK.
Under a US law that came into effect in 31 December, countries have until 28 June to show they have significantly reduced the amount of crude oil they purchase from Iran or face being cut off from the US financial system.
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