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2mo ago

Diaspora-Funded Network Smuggles Starlink Into Blacked-Out Iran

Smuggled satellite links help people share evidence of abuses despite arrests under a sweeping ban.

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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

  • The BBC investigation, published Sunday, details Iranians abroad bankrolling a complex effort that moves Starlink terminals across borders to beat the two-month shutdown.
  • The flat, white terminals connect directly to SpaceX satellites and bypass Iran’s filtered internet, and each unit can serve several nearby users.
  • Iran outlawed Starlink in 2025 with prison terms of up to two years for possession and up to ten years for importing more than 10 devices, and state media reported fresh arrests including two foreign nationals.
  • Human-rights groups say the satellite links have allowed videos of arrests and alleged abuses to reach the outside world during the crackdown.
  • Witness estimated about 50,000 terminals were already in Iran in January, as monitors describe a nationwide blackout since February 28 and authorities now grant limited, vetted access to some businesses.