Overview
- Iran cut nationwide connectivity on January 8, with monitoring groups measuring a roughly 99% collapse in internet traffic and only limited, whitelisted services intermittently reachable.
- Activists say roughly 50,000 smuggled Starlink terminals now operate in concealed locations, with tools that let a single dish share connectivity to nearby users, providing a lifeline to a minority.
- SpaceX made Starlink service free for users in Iran this week, drawing heightened attention from human-rights groups, U.S. officials, militaries using Starlink and Starshield, and potential investors.
- Researchers and activists report satellite jamming and GPS spoofing by Iranian authorities, along with searches, confiscations and arrests under a parliamentary ban on unlicensed satellite equipment.
- Rights groups say many verified videos of the crackdown are being sent via Starlink, while researchers document sophisticated shutdown techniques and only partial, intermittent restoration of phone access.