Kanal13According to American sources, the United States secretly transported about 6,000 Starlink terminals to Iran following the violent suppression of protests last month. The Wall Street Journal reports this. The goal of this operation is to provide Iranians with access to satellite internet at a time when the country’s authorities have imposed severe restrictions on communications. The majority of the US State Department’s purchase of almost 7,000 terminals was made in January, utilizing funds diverted from similar “internet-freedom initiatives,” to “help anti-regime activists circumvent internet shut-offs in Iran,” officials told WSJ. Starlink terminals are just one of the methods the US has explored for expanding uncensored internet access for Iranians despite regime blackouts.
The US additionally funds virtual private networks (VPNs) for Iranians, and, according to the WSJ, there is some debate among US officials regarding whether Starlink or VPNs better protect Iranian internet freedom. “Operating Starlink without VPNs would make it easier for Iranian authorities to geolocate the user,” US officials told the WSJ, adding that VPNs are “more accessible and cost-effective for a broader base of people. “ Mora Namdar, former head of the US State Department’s Middle East bureau, urged the US to expedite efforts to deliver Starlink to Iran as early as August 2025. VPNs, while useful, are “useless when the internet is shut down,” she wrote in a memo to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. US President Donald Trump was reportedly aware of the plan, but it is unknown if he directly approved the move. In early January, shortly after the start of the regime-imposed internet blackout, Reuters reported that Trump and Musk had spoken about increasing Starlink usage in Iran. Tens of thousands of Iranians utilize Starlink technology to “maintain contact with like-minded citizens and share information outside the control of government firewalls and censors,” the report noted.
Owning a Starlink terminal, however, is illegal under the Iranian regime. The homes and roofs of Iranian suspected of utilizing them are frequently searched by authorities, the WSJ reported. As previously reported, Iran has once again found itself in the global media spotlight amid widespread protests against the regime of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In an interview, orientalist Dr. Mordechai Kedar of Bar-Ilan University noted that the current wave of demonstrations coincides with a complex set of internal and external challenges facing the government—from a severe economic crisis to mounting pressure from regional allies, including Hezbollah terrorists. He also highlighted another factor giving the protests additional impetus: external support. According to Kedar, this primarily concerns the position of the United States: he cited President Donald Trump’s repeated tough statements, which, according to the expert, give the protesters the feeling that they have not been left without the attention and support of the international community.
