US secretly sent 6,000 Starlink terminals to Iran

Friday 13 February 2026 - 08:50

By: Dakir Madiha

US secretly sent 6,000 Starlink terminals to Iran

The Trump administration quietly delivered about 6,000 Starlink satellite internet terminals to Iran following a deadly government crackdown on nationwide protests last month, marking the first time Washington has directly supplied the technology to the country, according to US officials cited by The Wall Street Journal.

The move was intended to help Iranian dissidents maintain communications after authorities in Tehran imposed sweeping internet restrictions amid one of the most violent waves of unrest in decades.

Iranian officials enforced an almost complete internet blackout beginning January 8, 2026, as mass demonstrations erupted over a collapsing currency and a deepening economic crisis. Human rights organizations say the communications shutdown made it far more difficult to document the crackdown, with activists reporting that security forces killed thousands of protesters.

Human Rights Activists News Agency, a US based group that verifies fatalities through a network of local activists, said confirmed deaths had surpassed 7,000 demonstrators, with concerns that the true toll could be higher. The Associated Press reported it was unable to independently verify those figures due to government restrictions.

Starlink, operated by SpaceX, relies on a network of low Earth orbit satellites that can bypass traditional ground based internet infrastructure. During the blackout, it became one of the few tools available for Iranians to transmit images and videos of violence.

R. Bahre, a researcher at Amnesty International, told Reuters that nearly all authenticated footage from Iran showing protesters killed or injured by security forces originated from individuals with access to Starlink connections.

The latest shipment adds to an estimated 50,000 Starlink terminals that activists and smugglers had already brought into Iran in recent years, according to Bloomberg. Prior to the US operation, most devices were reportedly transported through mountainous routes from Iraq’s Kurdish region or by small boats crossing the Persian Gulf from Dubai.

SpaceX made the service free for users in Iran in mid January as the crackdown intensified. President Donald Trump confirmed he had discussed expanding Starlink connectivity in Iran with Elon Musk, praising the entrepreneur’s technical capabilities.

Iranian authorities have responded forcefully to the spread of the technology. Under legislation adopted in 2025, possession of a Starlink terminal can be prosecuted as espionage and carries prison sentences of up to ten years. Security forces have deployed military grade jamming equipment and used drones to identify the distinctive satellite dishes installed on rooftops.

Brigadier General Hossein Rahimi, head of Iran’s economic security police, said seizures of Starlink terminals have increased by 881 percent during the current Iranian calendar year. Despite the risks, demand for the devices has remained steady, with a single terminal capable of providing connectivity to entire neighborhoods cut off from the outside world.