David Bridges
Elon Musk has said his company Starlink will ask for an exemption to sanctions, so it can provide satellite broadband to Iran, Sky News has reported.
In a post on Twitter, the founder of Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) and SpaceX had said that Starlink is “now active on all continents, including Antarctica”, and when asked if it would be possible to supply Starlink to people in Iran, Sky News said, Musk replied: “Starlink will ask for an exemption to Iranian sanctions in this regard.”
Starlink is a fast-growing network of more than 3,000 satellites in low-Earth orbit, with tens of thousands of users in the US alone. Musk, the richest person in the world, has said that it aims to bring high-speed internet access to those in remote and rural areas.
It is not the first time he has been asked by a Twitter fan about when he will expand the service to cover Iran, Sky News added, with access to the internet in the country heavily restricted as the Islamic government seeks to control dissent.
Sanctions on Iran have been imposed over recent decades as a result of the country’s nuclear activity, but these were eased as part of a 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action.
But in 2018, President Donald Trump pulled the US out of that agreement, re-imposing sanctions and prompting Tehran to start backing away from the deal’s terms, athough efforts are underway to revive the deal.
Musk has not given any further details about how he will apply for an exemption, Sky News said.
Sophie Langley
Cameron Steel
