Elon Musk said he would activate his Starlink satellite internet service in Iran in response to news that the U.S. Treasury would grant special permission for companies to provide internet services to the country.
Iranians are suffering widespread internet outages as Iran's government tries to quell widespread antigovernment protests. Authorities have blocked access to services like Instagram, WhatsApp, and Skype. (Other foreign social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok were already blocked.)
Iran’s protests began on Sept. 16 after the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested by the country’s “morality police” for violating rules on dress code. Amini’s death sparked widespread demonstrations, as Iranians vented frustrations with the country's dress code, limits to personal freedoms, and economic stagnation.
Protests have turned into deadly clashes between police and demonstrators: Iranian state media say that 41 people have died in the demonstrations thus far, while foreign NGOs give higher figures.
Sanctions exemptions
On Friday the U.S. said companies providing cloud computing, social media, and video conferencing would be exempt from sanctions. Sanctions bar most foreign businesses from operating in Iran.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Twitter that the exceptions were meant to “advance internet freedom and the free flow of information for the Iranian people,” and to help them “counter the Iranian government’s censorship.”
Musk said he would activate Starlink to Iran in a reply to Blinken’s tweet. Musk first suggested that he wanted a sanctions exemption for Starlink on Sept. 19.
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1573379244268437504
Starlink is not the only service trying to restore internet access to Iran. Signal, whose app has been blocked in Iran since January, asked its users to set up proxy servers, allowing Iranians to bypass internet controls and access Signal.
Previous Strarlink use
This is not the first time the SpaceX CEO has offered to turn on satellite internet for other communities in emergency situations. In late February, Musk activated Starlink in the Pacific Island of Tonga after a massive volcanic eruption cut off the country’s internet access. Musk also delivered thousands of Starlink terminals to Ukraine after Russia’s invasion. Ukrainians, including soldiers, have used Starlink to keep communication lines open even as the war takes out internet and mobile networks.
But while the Ukrainian government publicly solicited Musk’s help, the Iranian government is unlikely to cooperate with ordinary Iranians trying to import terminals to connect with SpaceX’s satellite internet network. "Iran's regime wants to keep the Internet off so it can repress people in the dark," tweeted Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran expert for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Sadjapour also tweeted that Musk confirmed to him that Starlink is now active for any Iranian with a Starlink terminal.