SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on Monday that the company will ask for an exemption from sanctions against Iran to provide the firm’s Starlink satellite broadband service in the country.
Musk made the statement on Twitter at a time of widespread protests in Iran over the death of a woman in police custody. Some people on Twitter asked Musk to provide the satellite-based internet stations.
Access to social media and some content is tightly restricted in Iran and internet monitoring group NetBlocks reported “near-total” disruption to internet connectivity in the capital of the Kurdish region on Monday, linking it to the protests.
Read more: Twitter confirms sale of company to Elon Musk for $44bn
Iran’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology could not be immediately reached for comment. The foreign ministry, Iran’s mission to the United Nations, and the United States Bureau of Industry and Security did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Musk did not specify from which country Starlink would seek exemptions, but Iran faces broad-based sanctions.
SpaceX is aiming to rapidly expand Starlink, and it is racing rival satellite communications companies including OneWeb and Amazon.com Inc’s yet to launch Project Kuiper.
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has issued a warning for mobile phone users against…
ISLAMABAD: Iranian President Dr. Masoud Peshkeskian met President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz…
ISLAMABAD: The government has approved a reduction in advance tax rates on property buyers and…
RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, met with Iranian President Masoud…
LAHORE: Following the reduction of petroleum prices, solar panels and batteries witnessed a sharp fall…
ISLAMABAD: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has declared a two-day public holiday for Ashura (9th &…