SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said he was activating his company's Starlink network access in Iran after the U.S. Treasury Department eased sanctions to help support the free flow of information via network access in the country.
Unfortunately, the Iranian government has cut off internet access in most of the country as protests erupted across the country over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody.
Amini was arrested because her hijab was allegedly “too loose.” Officials said she died of a heart attack which her family denied, saying that she had no heart problems and she was beaten badly by “morality police“.
This is Iran today. A woman proudly burning the most visible symbol of religious dictatorship; compulsory hijab.
— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) September 19, 2022
Hijab police killed #MahsaAmini but now there are millions of Mahsa in Iran who are shouting NO to Forced hijab NO to gender apartheid regime.#مهسا_امینی pic.twitter.com/9tzd9IRwgB
US Government Reduce Sanction Over Network Access in Iran
The U.S. government called Amini's death a tragedy and issued guidance on Friday to ease restrictions on tech companies seeking to do business in Iran, which remains under strict U.S. sanctions.
Last Friday, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a statement that “Iran's government has cut off internet access for most of its 80 million citizens to prevent them – and the world – from watching its violent repression on peaceful protesters.” He explained that Mahsa Amini died senselessly and tragically where the peaceful protesters are rightfully outraged by her death.
According to the Treasury Department, the guidance includes an authorization called “General License D-2.”. The self-enforcing license expands the scope of software and services allowed to be exported to Iran and allows companies to offer services including social media platforms, collaboration platforms, conferences, video games and cloud-based services, a senior Treasury Department official said in a statement.
That's exactly what the tech billionaire said he would do earlier this week, before the government announced its support for internet freedom. On Monday, Musk tweeted that Starlink would ask for an exemption from U.S. sanctions on Iran in order to provide internet services in the country. It's unclear whether Musk will actually do so, though he is known to be a big talker. There are things he does decide to go through, but he has a bad habit of quitting at the last minute and causing huge chaos.
Activating Starlink …
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 23, 2022
In the briefing, the senior Treasury Department official added that its entity responsible for administering and enforcing sanctions, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, welcomes applications for licenses for any activities not covered under its new guidance.
Iran on Saturday criticized the U.S. for easing only certain sanctions, stating it was part of the country's agenda against its government.
