"Activation in progress".
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in two words on Friday that he was activating his company's Starlink satellite internet service, in response to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's tweet that the United States eased sanctions on Iran "to advance internet freedom and the free flow of information" for Iranians.
Iranian authorities have imposed drastic restrictions on the internet, including blocking access to Instagram and WhatsApp.
Activating Starlink…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 23, 2022
The US Treasury Department issued guidelines on Friday aimed at expanding internet services available to Iranians despite US sanctions on the country, amid protests in Iran.
On Monday, the whimsical billionaire had wanted to provide Starlink satellite broadband service to Iran, a service already provided to Ukraine for its fight against the Russian invasion.
A treasury official suggested to reporters that Starlink should seek government permission as the company provides commercial-grade service.
But a US State Department spokesperson later said Friday's updated license was self-executing and "anyone who meets the criteria set out in this general license may continue their activities without seeking additional permissions."
Read alsoIran: 5 minutes to understand the revolt after the death of young Mahsa Amini
Since the death of Mahsa Amini last week three days after being arrested by the morality police because her veil did not cover her hair properly, Iranians have shown their anger.
Tehran was the scene of new excesses on Friday evening.
Fire
AFP-verified videos posted on social media show protesters running outside the Park Royal hotel in the north of the capital, in a street with scenes of chaos and several localized fires in the streets .
At least eight shots of undetermined origin are heard.
Other videos show a man in military uniform firing at protesters in the Shahre Rey area in southern Tehran.
These events came after another day of tensions during which the authorities retaliated against "counter-revolutionaries", "rioters" and "plotters", by organizing their own demonstrations after Friday prayers.
Thousands of people marched in several cities in Iran, including Tehran, Qom (north) or Isfahan (center).
Hundreds of women in chadors marched, carrying signs of support and thanks to the police, according to state television.
“Death to the plotters”, “To advocate the end of the veil, it is the policy of the Americans”, said the slogans.
Authorities have mobilized hundreds of women in Tehran, chanting pro-vice-police slogans.
Majid Asgaripour/West Asia News Agency/via REUTERS
The Revolutionary Guards, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic, for their part assured that the recent “conspiracy of the enemy” would be “doomed to failure”.
State media on Thursday reported the deaths of 17 people, including five law enforcement officers, in the protests.
But the toll is likely to be much heavier: on Friday the opposition NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR), based in Oslo, affirmed that the repression by the security forces had left at least 50 dead, the mobilization being expanded to almost 80 cities in one week.
And on Friday, demonstrations of support for Iranian women took place in Belgium, Germany, Chile, in particular.
VIDEO.
In Iran, protests break out across the country after the death of Mahsa Amini
Police arrested an unknown number of people, including activist Majid Tavakoli and journalist Nilufar Hamedi, according to those around them.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi promised Thursday an investigation into the death of Mahsa Amini, while specifying that the medical examiner had not reported abuse by the police, which the demonstrators dispute.
The authorities continue to claim that the young woman suffered a heart attack at the rehabilitation center where she was sent to learn the proper Iranian rules of dress.
