The billionaire answered the question of whether the company would be able to provide the Starlink internet service to the citizens of Iran, which has been subject to international sanctions due to its nuclear program. “Starlink will request an exemption from the sanctions on Iran in this context,” Musk wrote.
Starlink, which uses satellites orbiting the Earth, has over 400,000 users worldwide, according to Musk in May. The service is designed to be used in remote areas. Musk even added on Sunday that the service is now active on all 7 continents.
Starlink intends to launch into space about 42 thousand mini-satellites that will circle the earth in a chain at a low altitude of 550 kilometers and provide an Internet connection. So far the company has launched about 1,600 satellites. For comparison, the number of satellites of all countries in the world is about 5,000.
Musk’s reference to Iran comes at a time when anti-government protests are mounting in the country following the death on Friday of Mehsa Amini while in police custody. She was arrested last Tuesday in Tehran by the modesty police after she did not wear the head covering correctly. The police deny that they treated her with violence.
Since Friday, Internet users in Iran have been reporting disconnections and extremely slow surfing in several cities in the country. According to the organization NetBlocks, the disruptions prevent internet use in large areas of Kurdistan, the province where Amini lived. “The disruptions are most likely intended to significantly limit the public’s ability to express political disappointment and communicate freely,” the organization wrote.