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."
- On September 16, a resident of Iran, Mahsa Amini, died after being detained by the "morality police" for wearing an "inappropriate" hijab. This event caused a wave of protests on social networks and on the streets of the country.
- SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on September 20 that the company will request an exemption from sanctions against Iran in order to provide the country with satellite internet from Starlink.
- According to official data, 35 people have been killed since the beginning of the protests, but local television writes about 41 victims. Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi has promised to "resolutely deal" with the protests that have engulfed most of the countryʼs provinces.