SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said Friday that he will starlink service to satellite internet in response to a tweet by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken that the US is taking measures to “promote internet freedom and the free flow of information” for Iranians.
Earlier on Friday, the US Treasury issued directives to expand Internet services available to Iranians despite the US sanctions imposed on Iran, coinciding with the escalation of protests across the country due to the death of the young woman, Mahsa Amini, while she was arrested by the morality police, following she fell into a coma.
A Treasury official told reporters that commercial uses of the Starlink service, which would require sending equipment to Iran, would not be covered by the department’s general license.
“In this matter, they will need to address the Treasury Department to achieve this,” the official added.
On Monday, Musk said that the company wanted an exemption from sanctions imposed on Iran for providing Starlink satellite broadband service in the country. The company has already made the same service available to the Ukrainians in their war once morest the Russians.
It is noteworthy that Musk had made it clear in a tweet on his account in response to one of the users that his company, “Starlink”, would request an exception to the sanctions imposed on Tehran, but he did not mention any additional details.
This tweet came at a time when many cities in Iran are witnessing widespread protests, condemning the killing of the young woman, Mahsa Amini, following she was arrested by the so-called religious police or morality police in Tehran.
She was taken to the hospital and later breathed. What sparked a wave of protests and protests in the country, and prompted the authorities in some areas to suspend the Internet service on the mobile phone.
