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Elon Musk announced that he will activate Starlink in Iran. Mass protests continue there

Author:
Anna Kholodnova
Date:

CEO of SpaceX Elon Musk announced that he will activate satellite Internet from Starlink in Iran.

Reuters writes about it.

The US Treasury Department on September 23 issued guidelines to expand Internet services available to Iranians despite US sanctions against the country. And US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken noted that the US has taken steps to promote Internet freedom and the free flow of information for Iranians.

But an official representative of the Ministry of Finance noted that Starlink should additionally contact them regarding activities in Iran.

"Our understanding of Starlink is that what they provide would be commercial grade, and it would be hardware thatʼs not covered in the general license; so that would be something they would need to write into Treasury for," he said.

Later, a representative of the US State Department said that the license had been renewed. According to him, it operates independently, and "anyone who meets the criteria set out in this general license can continue to operate without requesting additional permits."