Overview
- Iran’s international internet traffic has been cut to roughly 1–5% since January 8, with mobile and satellite services restricted under a nationwide shutdown.
- Activists and a Bloomberg report citing an anonymous SpaceX source say Starlink service is now free for users in Iran, though the company has issued no public statement.
- Holistic Resilience, which publicized the development, estimates more than 50,000 Starlink terminals are in the country, up from earlier estimates of about 20,000.
- Possession of Starlink equipment has been illegal in Iran since 2025, carrying potential prison sentences of up to ten years, and authorities have confiscated devices in raids.
- Iran is degrading connectivity through gateway control, BGP route withdrawals, and military jamming believed to cause heavy packet loss, and the flow of photos and videos leaving the country has already declined.