Elon Musk Asks For Exceptions For Starlink Operations In Iran, Here's The Reason

JAKARTA - SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on Monday, September 19 that his company would request an exception from sanctions against Iran to provide the company's Starlink satellite broadband service in the country.

Musk made a statement via his tweet on Twitter at a time of widespread protests in Iran over the death of a woman in police custody. Several people on Twitter asked Musk to provide the country's satellite-based internet station.

This is because the Iranian government's efforts to shut down internet networks in the country due to the death cases that went viral in the world.

So far, access to social media and some content has been severely restricted in Iran. Even internet monitoring group NetBlocks also reported "nearly total" disruptions to internet connectivity in the capital city of Kurdi on Monday, September 19. This ultimately led to protests.

Iran's Ministry of Communication and Information Technology could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters on the report. The US Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Iran's mission to the United Nations and the United States Bureau of Industry and Security, also did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Musk did not specify from which country Starlink would seek further exceptions to host internet services, but Iran is currently facing widespread sanctions from the US and its allies.

Starlink itself has been praised for its role by the world community, particularly in Ukraine, for providing and initiating free internet networks for people under invasion by the Russian army.

SpaceX is now targeting to rapidly expand its Starlink network, and is racing with rival satellite communications companies, including OneWeb and Amazon.com Inc which have yet to launch Project Kuiper.