The Starlink Emergency

With Iran wracked by protests sparked by the death of a woman held by the Ayatollah’s “morality police,” internet access will be the oxygen fueling the fight. As the regime attempts to cut off this communication tool, the heroic Iranian protesters are turning to Elon Musk, and the SpaceX chief is offering his satellite broadband service, Starlink, free to the protesters — if the Biden administration doesn’t stand in the way. This is an important test of Mr. Biden. Does he have the will to move on an emergency basis to clear the way for Starlink to be made available despite much-deserved sanctions? Mr. Musk made it clear that his offer earlier this week to make Starlink available to advance the protesters’ cause depended on getting permission. “Starlink will ask for an exemption to Iranian sanctions in this regard,” he tweeted.Mr. Musk’s offer presented President Biden with an opportunity to embrace the cause of the Iranian freedom-fighters while also promoting American technological innovation. And to make clear that he has learned the lesson of the failure of President Obama to swing America publicly behind the democracy protesters who attempted, with extraordinary courage, a democratic uprising in 2009. Today the timing is ideal.Despite the Iranian regime’s mastery of “the dark and violent art of suppressing dissent,” our Benny Avni writes, protesters have become emboldened in recent days, “filling streets in big cities and small towns across the country.” By sharing among themselves on social media news, video, and images of the protests — including the burning of head scarves, or hijabs — “fears of the regime’s enforcers seem to dissipate amid the anger,” Mr. Avni says. No wonder Tehran is desperate to shut down the internet across large swaths of Iran. Protesters still able to access Twitter were filling the platform Wednesday with reports of lost internet access. In the past, shutting down the internet allowed Tehran’s thugs to work with impunity, Mr. Avni writes. In past protests in 2018, it was later found that “more than 1,500 protesters were killed,” an Iranian-American dissident, Masih Alinejad, told the Sun. Ms. Alinejad hails the chance for Mr. Musk’s Starlink to restore communications that Tehran wants to cut off. “Elon’s plan means the dictators can’t switch off the internet to hide the truth,” she says. An Iranian journalist and researcher, Erfan Kasraie, wrote to Mr. Musk on Twitter, calling Starlink a potential “game changer for the future.” The service has already been deployed in Ukraine, helping its troops repel the Russian attackers.Is Mr. Biden interested in fast-tracking the use of Starlink in Iran at the risk of spoiling his program of appeasement with Tehran? Or is he more concerned with the articles of appeasement he seeks to renew with the Ayatollahs? “Mr. Biden,” Mr. Avni reports, “remains hopeful that the Iranians will sooner or later agree to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.” He could have barred Iran’s president from coming to address the UN, but didn’t.Mr. Biden failed to seize the moment to grant, during his speech today at the UN, Mr. Musk’s request to deploy Starlink in the service of the Iranian protesters. The Treasury Department has suggested that Mr. Musk “may not need a license” to provide the service. Yet a presidential endorsement would have spoken volumes about America’s commitment to democracy at a moment when it is under attack across the globe. There’s still time.

The Starlink Emergency

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