Iran Declares Starlink a ‘Legitimate Target’ as Internet Blackout Enters Second Month
LONDON — Iran has declared Starlink’s satellite internet infrastructure a “legitimate target,” state-affiliated Fars News Agency reported Wednesday, as the country’s near-total internet blackout enters its second month and authorities intensify their crackdown on unauthorized connectivity.
Fars published an infographic showing the presence of Elon Musk’s satellite internet service in neighboring countries, including Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE. The announcement forms part of a broader threat from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has warned of potential strikes on multiple American technology and defense companies.
According to internet monitoring group NetBlocks, connectivity inside Iran has dropped to approximately 1 percent of normal levels, leaving satellite services among the few remaining means of accessing the global internet. The blackout has disrupted personal communications, independent news access and online businesses across the country of 90 million people.
Many Iranians have turned to SpaceX’s Starlink terminals — which use low-Earth orbit systems — to circumvent the restrictions, a practice that carries severe risks. Iranian rights activists warn that using such tools can potentially result in the death penalty.
Authorities have moved aggressively to stamp out the practice. Ahmad-Reza Radan, Iran’s police chief, said security forces had seized 139 Starlink devices and arrested 46 people involved in selling terminals, according to the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency. Police in the central city of Yazd announced on March 26 they had blocked 61 bank accounts belonging to Starlink users as part of the wider crackdown.
Despite these measures, activists and digital rights groups estimate there are still around 50,000 Starlink terminals operating inside the country.
Starlink gained prominence inside Iran in January, when it was used to bypass internet restrictions and transmit footage of protests that erupted over a deepening economic crisis and widespread public anger at the government.
While the service was widely praised at the time as a tool for circumventing censorship, experts have since cautioned that satellite internet is not immune to state interference and remains embedded within broader systems of sovereignty and control.
Iran has long maintained a national intranet — a closed, state-controlled network — but as the conflict has continued, even that system has degraded, limiting communications between essential services, according to analysts.
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