Elon Musk said Monday that his SpaceX company is close to having 100 active Starlinks to combat internet disruption in Iran, where its President Ebrahim Raisi vowed “no mercy” toward “hostile” dissidents taking part in the anti-regime unrest.
Shortly after protests erupted, advocacy groups warned of a “major disruption” in internet services across Iran, which has been gripped by demonstrations for over 100 days.
Three months after Musk said he would activate the internet service in the Islamic Republic, he tweeted: “Approaching 100 starlinks active in Iran,” part of a U.S.-backed effort to “advance internet freedom and the free flow of information” to Iranians. The satellite-based broadband service could help Iranians circumvent Tehran’s restrictions on internet access as part of the regime’s crackdown in the face of a widespread movement that some have called revolutionary.
A day after Musk’s announcement, Raisi accused "hypocrites, monarchists, and all anti-revolutionary currents.”
"The embrace of the nation is open to everyone, but we will show no mercy to those who are hostile,” said the ultra-conservative leader.
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