Starlink Connects Iran
Starlink is coming to the aid of another embattled country this week, as SpaceX CEO Elon Musk was allowed to activate coverage for Iran following the issuing of a General licence by the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken.
News has had a difficult time getting out of the middle-eastern country due mainly to its government clamping down - and eventually shutting down - access to the internet. But for those of you who aren’t aware, Iran is going through a period of social upheaval.
22 year old Mahsa Amini was killed by Iranian Morality Police for not wearing a headscarf properly. Understandably, massive protests erupted, leading to the government censoring as much of the internet as they could to try to keep the news of the protest out of the international spotlight.
Luckily, calls for help reached not only the US State Department, but Elon Musk.
Responding to several direct appeals for help, Musk tweeted that he was going to attempt to seek an exemption to the US’s Iranian sanctions so he could activate Starlink coverage for the protestors.
That was on September 19th, and just four days after that, Secretary Blinken issued the General Licence to Iran, and Elon tweeted: “Activating Starlink”.
And similarly to Ukraine, Starlink terminals may have to be shipped in for the Iranian people to make use of them, as the government there is unlikely to support. But the resources developed for the Ukrainian resistance will likely help in setting up some way to get the dishes to the right people in Iran.
This isn’t the first time Musk has used Starlink to help besieged people with internet service. When Russia launched their invasion of Ukraine, Elon made a very similar move to provide that country with Starlink coverage as well.
The free flow of information is how fights for freedom are won, and Elon has always been very vocal about his thoughts on protecting that. Seeing him consistently act on this sort of issue is probably one of the few times we can feel good about rooting for a billionaire throwing their weight around.
The real focus here, of course, is the Iranian peoples’ struggle for freedom, and we hope that Starlink helps them achieve the changes they’re fighting for.