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2d ago

Covert Network Funnels Starlink Into Iran During Nationwide Internet Shutdown

A BBC investigation points to diaspora-funded pipelines that move banned terminals across borders despite arrests.

Image
Iran's internet shutdown has now entered its 10th week, leaving the Islamic Republic largely cut off from global networks. Getty Images
A white rectangular Starlink device rests inside a brown cardboard box. The hands of a person wearing thin blue plastic gloves and dark clothing are touching it at the edges, as if lifting it out of the box.

Overview

  • Reports describe a clandestine supply chain that smuggles Starlink satellite internet terminals into Iran, with a network member called Sahand saying he sent a dozen units since January.
  • Starlink terminals connect directly to satellites, which lets users bypass state-run networks and get online during the shutdown.
  • Iran outlaws buying, selling, or using the devices, and state media reported recent arrests that included two foreign nationals, with a rights group estimating about 100 people detained for possession.
  • Human-rights group Witness estimated at least 50,000 terminals were in Iran at the start of the year, and a Persian-language Telegram channel volunteer told the BBC about roughly 5,000 sales over two and a half years.
  • NetBlocks has tracked a prolonged nationwide shutdown and a broader crackdown on VPNs and satellite gear as authorities try to choke off the black market.