U.S. Treasury says some satellite internet equipment can be exported to Iran

By Kanishka Singh and Daphne Psaledakis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury Division mentioned on Tuesday some satellite tv for pc web tools could be exported to Iran, suggesting that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk could not want a license to offer the agency’s Starlink satellite tv for pc broadband service within the nation.

Musk mentioned on Monday the corporate will ask for an exemption from sanctions in opposition to Iran. “Starlink will ask for an exemption to Iranian sanctions on this regard,” Musk wrote on Twitter in reply to a tweet.

Musk’s tweet didn’t give extra particulars on his plans however it got here at a time of widespread protests in Iran over the dying of a lady in police custody. The Treasury didn’t specify whether or not the license would apply to Musk’s plans.

Some individuals on Twitter had requested Musk to offer the satellite-based web stations. Entry to social media and a few content material is tightly restricted in Iran.

The Treasury Division’s Workplace of Overseas Property Management (OFAC) has a longstanding license that “authorizes sure exports to Iran of {hardware}, software program, and providers associated to communications over the web, together with sure consumer-grade Web connectivity providers and residential client satellite tv for pc terminals licensed beneath Normal License D-1,” a division spokesperson mentioned in a press release.

“For any exports not lined by current authorizations, OFAC welcomes purposes for particular licenses to authorize actions supporting web freedom in Iran,” the assertion added.

SpaceX is aiming to quickly increase Starlink, and it’s racing rival satellite tv for pc communications firms together with OneWeb and Amazon.com Inc’s but to launch Undertaking Kuiper.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Daphne Psaledakis in Washington; Enhancing by Alistair Bell)