How a Secret Smuggling Ring Is Providing Internet Access to Blacked-Out Iran

BBC reports a hidden network is quietly spreading Starlink devices into Iran to keep the internet accessible amid a government shutdown, with fundraising from Iranians abroad and no state funding claimed; devices are shared to enable information exchange with the outside world.

State media reported four people, including two foreign nationals, arrested for importing satellite internet equipment; the BBC cites an unnamed digital rights group estimating about 100 arrests for possessing Starlink terminals.

The internet ban is intensified in February after a brief relief, as the United States and Israel launch attacks on Iran, killing hundreds including the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Human rights group Witness estimates there are at least 50,000 Starlink devices in Iran as of January.

Iran imposes an internet blackout in January amid massive protests across the country.

Iran passes legislation making using, buying or selling Starlink devices illegal, with jail terms of up to two years; importing and distributing more than 10 units carries a 10-year term.

BBC reports that the public Persian-language Telegram channel NasNet has facilitated the sale of Starlink terminals, with an estimated 5,000 terminals sold through the channel over the past two and a half years.