That _is_ money laundering. Assuming you could find a trusted third party, they'd probably have the same legal restriction, and it's anyway an offence for the Americans to enter into this transaction knowing that the money would go to Iran.
The people I was working with were too cautious on this. I believe they could manage it somehow. I received a 500$ bounty from Facebook through paypal on my Dutch account. The same could be done potentially with them. They thought it is a risk!
Edit: Hm, anti-money laundering laws maybe?