Biden Admin Reportedly in Talks With Elon Musk to Provide Satellite Internet In Iran to Aid Protesters

The Biden administration has reportedly been in talks with Elon Musk to provide Starlink Internet in Iran to help the protesters.

CNN’s Natasha Bertrand and Alex Marquardt, citing “multiple officials familiar with the discussions,” reported on Friday that the administration is interested in Starlink being made available in the country. The satellite internet system has been vital in Ukraine, both to civilians and the military after Russia attacked critical infrastructure in the invasion, including knocking most of the country offline.

The Iranian regime has shut down internet service there in response to Iranian women taking to the streets in massive protests after the death of Mahsa Amini, who died last month after she was reportedly beaten by police for defying the country’s rules on wearing a hijab.

“We are interested in finding ways to ensure that the Iranian people can have access to the internet on their phones and everywhere else,” a senior administration official told CNN. “And so Starlink is one option, but it is not the only option.”

However, according to Bertrand and Marquardt, “it is not clear whether the administration has offered to pay for the Starlink terminals to be set up in Iran,” a pertinent question after it looked like Musk was preparing to end the free run in Ukraine unless the Pentagon stepped up with funding. Musk later indicated that the service would continue as is, after all.

There are other potential challenges in Iran, including getting the Starlink terminals necessary to access the service, as well as providing instructions in Farsi, according to the correspondents.

Musk tweeted last week there are “very few” Starlink terminals inside Iran.

Musk has asked the U.S. government for funding to operate Starlink terminals in Ukraine. Musk threatened to pull funding for additional terminals inside the Eastern European country if the Pentagon did not honor the request — only to backtrack.

Bertrand and Marquardt noted that “Musk has said that if the terminals can get into Iran, SpaceX has already activated the signal. But the way he has acted in the discussions around Ukraine have only added to concerns about the considerable influence the world’s richest man may now have over some of the world’s biggest conflicts.”

Watch above via CNN.