Iran is reportedly considering adding facilities of SpaceX and other companies under CEO Elon Musk to its military targets in the Middle East. This comes as Musk's aerospace company finalized its initial public offering (IPO) at a record high, raising concerns about potential repercussions.
On June 11, foreign media outlets, including CNN, reported that the semi-official Fars News Agency, linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), stated that Iran could target SpaceX's Starlink facilities in the region. This consideration arises from the recent use of SpaceX's infrastructure, including Starlink, by the U.S. and Israel during attacks on Iran. Fars claimed that Musk's company provided military satellite communication services, including Starshield, Earth observation, encrypted communications, and secure data transmission to the U.S. and Israel.
Fars reported, "Starlink ground stations located in Israel, Qatar, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Oman, as well as infrastructure linked to SpaceX shareholders such as Alpha Dhabi and Mubadala, are now included in Iran's new list of potential targets." Mubadala is the UAE's sovereign wealth fund, while Alpha Dhabi is an investment company, both of which hold stakes in SpaceX.
Additionally, Fars cited anonymous sources claiming that U.S. forces attacked water facilities in southern Iran with support from Musk's companies. The agency stated, "Iran reserves the right to attack all facilities associated with Musk's holding company in the Middle East and Israel."
This news raises concerns that it could dampen enthusiasm for SpaceX's IPO, which set its offering price at $135 (approximately 200,000 won) and is set to begin trading on the Nasdaq on June 12. SpaceX aims to sell around 555.6 million shares, raising $75 billion (approximately 113 trillion won), with a valuation of about $1.77 trillion (approximately 2,668 trillion won) based on the offering price.
The scale of this IPO surpasses the previous record set by Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company Aramco in 2019, which raised $29.4 billion (approximately 44.3 trillion won). Based on the offering price, SpaceX's market capitalization will immediately place it as the eighth largest in the world, surpassing Aramco.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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