Elon Musk Activates Starlink After US Guidance On Expanding Internet Access For Iranians Amid Protests
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on Friday that he would enable the company’s satellite Internet service, Starlink, in response to a tweet by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the US was acting “to advance freedoms of freedom” The Internet and the Free Flow of Information” for Iranians.
The US Treasury Department on Friday issued guidelines to expand Internet services to Iranians despite US sanctions against the country, amid protests around Iran following the death of a 22-year-old woman. age incarcerated.
Correspondents briefed on the Treasury official said: “Our understanding of Starlink is that what they offer will be commercial grade and that it will be hardware not covered under the general license; as So that’s what they need to put in the Treasury.”
A spokesperson for the US State Department later said of the updated license Friday that it is self-executing and that “anyone who meets the criteria set forth in this general license may continue to their operations without asking for additional permissions.”
Musk could not be reached for comment or clarification about Starlink being allowed to operate in Iran.
Iranians protested Mahsa Amini’s death last week while in police custody after being arrested by ethics police for “inappropriate attire”.
On Monday, Musk said the company wants to provide Starlink satellite broadband service – already provided to Ukraine to fend off Russian aggression – to the Iranians, and will ask for a sanctions exception.
A US State Department spokesman added that if SpaceX determines that certain activities targeting Iranians require a specific license, “OFAC will welcome and prioritize it.”
“Also, if SpaceX determines that its operation has been authorized and has any questions, OFAC welcomes such participation,” a State Department spokesperson said.
© Thomson Reuters 2022
