The US is taking steps to relax regulations blocking sales of food and medicine to Iran, amid sanctions imposed on the country by the Trump administration, AP reports.

The Treasury Department said it had created a way to ensure humanitarian aid could continue “despite the administration's effort to isolate Tehran.”

The treasury plans to allow “permissible trade” to support the Iranian people, while maintaining efforts to deprive the Islamic republic's government of the resources that Washington says it “needs to develop missiles and support militant activities around the Middle East.”

The gesture, announced on Friday, addresses concerns by aid groups and others that regulations prevented shipments of food and medicine that were traditionally allowed into countries that are under sanctions.