President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday that he's planning to talk with Elon Musk about using SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service to restore connectivity in Iran. The country has been offline for four days as anti-government protests spread and authorities tightened their grip.
"He's very good at that kind of thing, he's got a very good company," Trump said, acknowledging Musk's technical capabilities in satellite communications.
The timing matters. Iran's internet blackout began Thursday, right as significant demonstrations against the country's clerical establishment kicked off. This isn't the usual localized throttling the government typically deploys. According to Iran Wire, this shutdown is comprehensive and has even disrupted existing Starlink satellite connections that protesters had been using as a workaround. The scale raises real concerns about what's happening on the ground when nobody can get information in or out.
Iran Opens Door to Talks While Threatening Retaliation
On Monday, Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi appeared on state television with a carefully calibrated message. Iran doesn't want war but is ready for one, he said, while expressing willingness to pursue "fair negotiations" based on mutual respect, according to the Times of Israel. The statement came after Trump claimed Iranian leaders wanted to negotiate following his threats of possible military action over the protest crackdown.
Meanwhile, Iran's parliamentary speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf warned that U.S. military bases across the Middle East could face attacks if Washington strikes Iranian military sites. Trump, characteristically, has escalated his rhetoric, threatening to hit Iran "very hard" in response to how authorities are handling the nationwide protests.
Getting internet access restored in Iran could change the dynamics considerably. Right now, information flows are essentially frozen, both within the country and between Iran and the outside world. Whether Starlink can actually penetrate the blackout, and whether Musk would even agree to get involved in this geopolitical hornet's nest, remains an open question.
