How Starlink is helping Iranians evade wartime internet blackout

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The near-total shutdown of the internet in Iran is the world’s longest nationwide blackout since the Arab Spring in the early 2010s. 

The Iranian government blocked access to the web shortly after the US and Israel launched strikes against the country in late February. This cut off many Iranians’ ability to communicate with the outside world. It followed an earlier shutdown in January during anti-regime protests.

Some citizens have bypassed the censorship by using Starlink, Mr Elon Musk’s satellite internet service. Starlink is illegal in Iran, but receivers have been smuggled into the country in recent years and sold on the black market. Using such tools is risky; if caught, people could face capital punishment, according to Iranian rights activists.

The weekslong duration of the current web shutdown is second only to the six-month blackout imposed in Libya in 2011, when leader Muammar Qaddafi’s government cut internet access to suppress growing dissent. 

What’s happened to the internet in Iran?

Iran’s telecommunications industry is almost entirely state-owned, giving the government total control over voice and data traffic carried via the country’s terrestrial infrastructure. 

The latest wartime web blackout that began on Feb 28 has surpassed the length of the shutdowns imposed during the Iran-Israel conflict in 2025 and the anti-government protests in 2026, 2022 and 2019. Connectivity has been hovering at about 1 per cent of pre-war levels, according to internet monitoring group NetBlocks. 

Under a tiered access system, many government employees have been “white-listed” and are still able to use the worldwide internet during times of war or unrest, according to activists. State-run media is able to broadcast and post on social media despite the blackout. The Iranian regime has used these platforms as their main tool of communication during the war. 

While the US and Iran have agreed a ceasefire, it is unclear whether there will be an easing of the web restrictions any time soon. An Iranian government spokesperson said that the internet will remain like this under wartime conditions.

What role is Starlink playing?

SpaceX’s Starlink service can still work in Iran as its ground receivers communicate directly with a network of hundreds of satellites that zip around the globe in low-Earth orbit. 

There are an estimated 50,000 Starlink terminals available to users in the country, according to Mr Ahmad Ahmadian, an Iranian human rights activist and technologist now living in the US, whose organisation Holistic Resilience helped Iranians gain access to the service.

In most cases, the kits were bought in countries where Starlink is licensed. They can then be operated in nations where SpaceX does not have a license, such as Iran, if users switch on its “roaming” setting. 

The receivers include a Wi-Fi router and a thin, rectangular satellite dish that can be installed in minutes. Many Iranian users share their credentials to give neighbors and friends access to their Wi-Fi network. Starlink is out of reach for most Iranians as terminals cost thousands of dollars on the black market.

What are Iranian authorities doing to crack down on Starlink use?

A Starlink receiver needs a clear view of the sky, raising the risk of the units being spotted by the authorities. The government has been using drones to search for them on rooftops. Starlink signals can also be detected, according to cyber experts. 

Following the 12-day war with Israel in June 2025, the Iranian parliament expanded the country’s espionage laws to criminalise Starlink use. Those caught transmitting videos that are seen as undermining national security could face five years in prison. In special security situations or wartime, sentences can be escalated to 25 years. 

The country’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was among those hunting for Starlink users, according to Mr Amir Rashidi at human rights organisation Miaan Group. 

Since the start of 2026’s war, Iranian authorities have arrested dozens of people who were allegedly part of a network that sold Starlink terminals. The government has also periodically deployed sophisticated equipment typically used for electronic warfare to try to jam Starlink signals, according to rights activists.

Are there any other ways for Iranians to communicate with the world?

Besides Starlink, the options are scarce. Other methods include shortwave radio, a century-old technology for broadcasting on high frequencies over long distances. 

Iranians living in border areas can try to connect to wireless cell towers in neighboring countries. Some people have resorted to crossing the border illegally to send photos and videos to the outside world, according to Farzaneh Badiei of Digital Medusa, a group that advocates for an open internet. 

How does the internet work in Iran?

Iran’s government has developed a domestic internet called the National Information Network that it uses to keep state operations and important services such as online banking functioning during a blackout.

Regime insiders and state officials are provided with so-called white wireless SIM cards that still operate when the internet is shut off. The state is also able to selectively deactivate those SIM cards, which it has increasingly done during the current war. 

Most data centers have also been shutdown, said Mr Ahmadian. Some have sustained damaged due to the war. Only one data center remains open for use by the state currently, according to Holistic Resilience.

Internet traffic is funneled through a core system ultimately controlled by the state Telecommunication Infrastructure Company. This makes it simple to remove Iranian IP addresses from the world wide web and leave Iranian citizens without a way to communicate with the outside world or access foreign websites and apps during a war, uprisings or any other emergencies. BLOOMBERG