Iran says it disabled Starlink during protests

Iran disabled terminals used for Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet service during anti-government protests in January, a senior Iranian official said Monday.

Mohammad Amin Aghamiri, head of Iran's National Cyberspace Center, told national television that “Iran managed to disable Starlink terminals for the first time” during the unrest. He did not specify what technology Iran used.

The protests over economic conditions peaked in early January. Iran cut off the internet for several weeks during the unrest, limiting the sharing of information about the demonstrations and the crackdown that followed.

Iranian authorities reported more than 3,000 deaths and attributed the violence to “terrorist acts” orchestrated by the United States and Israel. Foreign-based NGOs maintain that Iranian security forces fired on protesters.

Starlink, operated by SpaceX, offered an alternative internet route for Iranians, but possession of its terminals carried the risk of imprisonment. Experts at the time claimed Iran was successfully jamming the signals.

Iran has long blocked foreign websites including YouTube and Instagram, although many users access them with virtual private networks. Earlier this year, Iran imposed what AFP described as the longest national internet blackout ever recorded for a country after the outbreak of the Middle East war triggered by US-Israeli strikes in late February.