Entrepreneur Elon Musk chalked up another win for free speech absolutism Friday as the U.S. government paved the way for communications access for Iranian protesters seeking to topple the oppressive regime in the Persian Gulf country.
Since the arrest and killing of 22-year-old journalist Mahsa Amini for allegedly violating Iran’s modesty laws by wearing her hijab incorrectly, protests have spread throughout the nation leading the government to crackdown by cutting off internet access to most of the 80 million people who live there Wednesday. By pushing to get his Starlink satellite network operation for the conflict wrought nation, Musk may have helped facilitate the takeover of an Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) base in northwest Iran.
Friday, members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK), who seek to overthrow the Iranian regime, posted to social media that protesters had “torched an IRGC base late Friday night” while thousands reportedly marched through the streets in Oshnavieh, Iran.
September 23 – Oshnavieh, western #Iran
Activists say protesters torched an IRGC base late Friday night.#IranProtests2022 #MahsaAmini#مهسا_امینی pic.twitter.com/LljWAwcgnO— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) September 24, 2022
Mass protests against the government are continuing in Iran after a young woman died following an arrest by the Islamic morality police over an alleged hijab violation. Dozens of protesters have been killed & social media is blocked. City of Oshnavieh: pic.twitter.com/oDMoPn9zaw
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) September 25, 2022
Protests across Iran intensified overnight — particularly in the city of Oshnavieh, which a Kurdish official said fell to protesters after security forces retreated. Protesters are seen here seen freely roaming the streets near the Martyr Halabja Square. pic.twitter.com/zdKX8MRaHk
— Haley Willis (@heytherehaley) September 24, 2022
September 23 – Oshnavieh, western #Iran
Locals continued the nationwide protests against the regime on the 8th day of the uprising.#IranProtests2022 #MahsaAmini#مهسا_امینی pic.twitter.com/LM0Qlau47K— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) September 23, 2022
Ali Safavi, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran based in Paris, explained to Fox News Digital that Iranians are now “rejecting the Shah’s dictatorship and religious tyranny” and are “demanding the establishment of a democratically elected republic based on the separation of religion and state and equal rights for women, ethnic and religious minorities.”
However, these protests would seemingly be unable to thrive without the intervention of SpaceX CEO Musk, who pressed the U.S. government to allow him the means to activate his Starlink satellites and provide internet access to the Iranian people.
Starlink, which helped make the internet available to Ukraine after Russia began its invasion in February, needed the U.S. Treasury Department to provide a license to bypass the sanctions imposed on Iran, and Friday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken touted the issuance of that license to Musk.
“We took action today to advance Internet freedom and the free flow of information for the Iranian people,” he tweeted, “issuing a General License to provide them greater access to digital communication to counter the Iranian government’s censorship.”
Musk replied simply to the post, “Activating Starlink …”
Activating Starlink …
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 23, 2022
According to the Washington Examiner, a representative from the State Department told reporters Friday that even though Starlink will allow some Iranians internet access, the regime has “repressive tools for communication.”
Even still, Musk’s new license will make it “easier for the Iranian people to confront some of those oppressive tools,” the rep continued. However, “It doesn’t mean that they don’t exist anymore.”
“The protests have turned into a nationwide uprising,” Safavi told Fox. “It is the eruption of the Iranian people’s pent-up anger in response to 43 years of suppression, corruption, and plunder.”
“Over the past 40 years, tens of thousands of women have been executed for their political views and affiliation with the MEK. This is a watershed moment in the struggle of the Iranian people for freedom and democracy,” he continued.
The outlet reported that as of Friday night there were mixed accounts of the number of protesters killed as regime approved sources provided a total around 35 while MEK officials contended 140 had been killed and around 5,000 had been arrested.
“It is time for the world community to discard its policy of appeasement and rise to support the people of Iran,” Safavi concluded.
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Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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