Iran Targets Elon Musk’s Companies in the Middle East
On Thursday, Iranian state media announced that all of Elon Musk’s business activities in the Middle East, including SpaceX, will be classified as military targets. This move appears to be part of Iran’s ongoing response to the United States.
The Iranian news outlet Fars reported that the Islamic Republic would consider all of Musk’s companies in the region as legitimate military objectives. Notably, it mentioned SpaceX’s Starlink Internet service infrastructure, including local ground stations, as a key focus.
A translated piece shared on Fars’ Telegram account stated that Iran is specifically targeting economic interests controlled by Musk in Western Asia. This declaration signifies an important escalation in Iranian rhetoric towards U.S. business operations in the area.
The reports from Iranian state media suggest that Starlink plays a role in facilitating military actions against Iran. The satellite internet service supposedly supports advanced military equipment, including drones and unmanned vessels used for operations aimed at Iranian targets.
According to sources cited by Fars, Iran alleges that the U.S. has committed war crimes against it with the support of Musk’s companies. One source claimed, “The Islamic Republic of Iran reserves the right to retaliate against any facilities associated with [Musk], who manages assets in the region and occupied territories.”
This isn’t the first instance of threats from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards against a major U.S. tech firm. They have previously warned other well-known companies like Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, and Google.
The warning regarding Musk’s holdings came just a day prior to SpaceX’s planned IPO. Reports indicate that Musk is advocating for his vision of implementing AI data centers in space, aiming to bolster the company’s standing.
Musk noted that the current design of the satellite is still in an iterative phase, projecting it to be less complex than the Starlink satellites, which have been deployed since 2019. He mentioned that much of the technology relies on existing systems for satellite Internet services.
“I don’t think this is a very difficult problem compared to what we’re already working on,” Musk commented.
