SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on Monday that his company will apply for an exemption from US sanctions against Iran in a bid to offer its satellite internet service, called Starlink, to the country.
"Starlink will apply for an exemption from sanctions
against Iran," Musk said in response to a tweet from a science reporter.
Musk had initially announced that the Starlink satellite
internet service had been made available on every continent - "including
Antarctica" - with the company planning to launch up to 42,000 satellites
to boost connectivity.
Iranian-born science journalist Erfan Kasraie had said on
Twitter that bringing the service to Iran could be a "real game changer
for the future" of the country, which elicited Musk's response.
Launched at the end of 2020, Starlink offers high-speed
broadband service to customers in areas poorly served by fixed and mobile
terrestrial networks through a constellation of satellites in low earth orbit.
The service received notoriety after supplying antennas and
modems to the Ukrainian military to improve its communications capabilities in
its war with Russia.
Starlink is monetized through the purchase of antennas,
modems and subscriptions with rates that vary by country.
Nearly 3,000 Starlink satellites have been deployed since
2019 and SpaceX is conducting about one launch a week, using its own Falcon 9
rockets to speed up its deployment.
Iran has been under a tightened US sanctions regime since
former president Donald Trump terminated a 2015 agreement over its nuclear
activities.
While current President Joe Biden supports a renegotiation
of the deal, Iranian insistence on long-term guarantees from Washington has
stalled discussions.
New rounds of sanctions were imposed on Iran this month
after a Tehran-based company helped ship drones to Russia, and in response to a
massive cyberattack targeting Albania in July allegedly carried out by Iran's
intelligence ministry.
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