American businessman Elon Musk said that the reason for his rejection of Kiev's request to activate the "Starlink" satellite communications service near Crimea was his country's sanctions imposed against Russia in 2022.
Musk noted in his online speech at the All-In Summit technology conference, organized by The All-In Podcast, that when he received the Ukrainian authorities’ request in this regard, Starlink communications were cut off from the Crimean region because the United States imposed its sanctions against Russia, which included the peninsula. .
He added: "These particular sanctions prevented us from operating the connection, and restoring it required obtaining the approval of the American government, which did not happen."
Musk noted that the Ukrainian authorities' request was received, "literally in the middle of the night." “Practically, they asked our company to participate in a major military action,” he said, comparing such an act of sabotage to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Musk confirmed that he “would have operated the Starlink system near Crimea, had he received the directive to do so from the President of the United States, Joe.” "Biden."
Musk previously announced that he rejected Ukraine's request to activate the Starlink network near Crimea, because he believed that the Starlink network should not be used to launch Ukrainian attacks on Crimea, because that violates the company's rules.
CNN quoted a biography of Musk written by writer and journalist Walter Isaacson, saying that Musk blocked Ukraine's access to the Starlink network in order to thwart a secret attack that Ukrainian forces would have launched on the Russian fleet in the Crimean Peninsula.
According to the book's author, the reason for Musk's decision was his fear that Russia would use nuclear weapons in response to the Ukrainian attack on Crimea.
Tehran : Announces the names of 5 prisoners to be released in an exchange deal with Washington
The Iranian mission to the United Nations announced that five Iranian prisoners in the United States will soon be released, as part of a prisoner exchange deal with Washington, and also specified their names.
The Iranian mission to the United Nations in New York explained, "A number of them remain in America and others will return to Iran."
The Iranian authorities have identified the names of the five prisoners they hope to be released by the United States in exchange for five Americans of Iranian origin who are now detained in Tehran and billions of dollars in assets frozen in South Korea.
Iran's representation at the United Nations reported that the five prisoners are: "Mehrdad Moin Ansari, Kambiz Attar Kashani, Reza Sarhank Pour Kafarani, Amin Hassanzadeh, and Lotfollah Kaveh Afrasiabi."
As for the American side, Washington seeks to release the following: Siamak Namazi, who was arrested in Iran in 2015 and later sentenced to 10 years in prison on espionage charges. Imad Sharqi, a businessman who was sentenced to 10 years in prison. And Morad Tahbaz. , a British-American environmental activist of Iranian descent who was arrested in 2018 and also sentenced to 10 years in prison. The identities of the fourth and fifth prisoners were not revealed, and the five are under house arrest in a Tehran hotel.
According to the Iranian News Agency , President Ebrahim Raisi confirmed, in an exclusive interview with NBC News in Tehran, published on Tuesday, that “the prisoner exchange agreement between Iran and the United States will be completed on time.” He explained that "the Americans imprisoned in Iran are in very good health" and will return to their homeland soon.
The United States concluded an agreement with Iran to exchange prisoners and release $6 billion in frozen funds , earlier, by issuing a comprehensive exemption for international banks to transfer them from South Korea to Qatar .
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken signed the agreement late last week, and Congress was also notified of the decision.
The exemption means that the actions of European, Middle Eastern and Asian banks will not conflict with US sanctions in transferring funds frozen in South Korea and transferring them to the Qatari Central Bank, where they will be kept for Iran to be used to purchase humanitarian goods.
Last August, Iran and the United States announced that they had reached a prisoner exchange deal, stipulating the release of billions of frozen dollars to Iran in exchange for an exchange of prisoners between the two countries, with the money being transferred to accounts in Qatar.
The Minister of State at the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi, said earlier that Doha played a pivotal role in facilitating dialogue and transmitting messages between Iran and the United States in the prisoner deal between the two countries.
Scott Ritter : An American intelligence officer comments on the Russians' upper hand and the reason for their victories now and throughout their history
Retired American intelligence officer, Scott Ritter, confirmed that Russia has gained the upper hand over Ukraine.
Ritter noted that this is not only because Ukrainian forces do not have the resources to counter Russian firepower, but because the Russians know what they are fighting for.
Ritter recommended that retired American General, David Petraeus, read about the Russian "Alyusha" tank.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently awarded Medals of Honor to members of the crew of the heroic T-80 Alyosha tank, which destroyed a convoy of enemy armored vehicles and Western-made tanks on the Zaporozhye Front.