The Trump administration secretly smuggled thousands of Starlink satellite internet terminals into Iran following last month's brutal crackdown on anti-regime protests, according to senior US officials who spoke to The Wall Street Journal.
Iranian authorities have been accused of violently suppressing widespread demonstrations and imposing an almost complete internet blackout. Now, the Journal reports that the US covertly transferred about 6,000 Starlink satellite internet kits into the Islamic Republic. It marks the first time Washington has directly sent Starlink equipment into Iran.
The State Department purchased close to 7,000 Starlink terminals, most of them in January, in an effort to help anti-regime activists circumvent internet restrictions. The procurement followed a decision by senior Trump administration officials to divert funds from other Iran internet freedom initiatives toward acquiring the Starlink devices.
President Donald Trump was aware of the shipments, the officials said, although they could not confirm whether he or another senior official directly approved the plan.
Tehran has repeatedly accused Washington, without providing evidence, of playing a central role in last month's nationwide protests in the country of 90 million people. Iranians took to the streets to protest years of economic mismanagement, currency devaluation and strict clerical rule.
The US has denied any involvement in the unrest. However, the "Starlink operation" suggests the Trump administration has provided far more assistance to regime opponents than previously known. As demonstrations spread across Iran, Trump publicly encouraged Iranians to continue protesting against the regime, telling them that "help is on the way."
Since then, however, the two countries have entered high-stakes negotiations over dismantling Iran's nuclear program. Tehran has refused to halt uranium enrichment, insisting it is necessary for civilian purposes, while Washington is seeking to block any pathway that could enable Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.
If no agreement is reached, Trump could authorize a military strike on Iran using aircraft carriers, warships and fighter jets that the US has deployed to the Middle East.
Possession of a Starlink terminal, owned by Elon Musk's SpaceX, is illegal in Iran and can carry a prison sentence of several years. The regime tightly restricts access to independent and foreign communications.
Nevertheless, tens of thousands of Iranians are believed to possess the satellite terminals, analysts and activists told the Journal, using them to maintain contact and share information beyond government censorship. Iranian authorities have conducted home and rooftop searches of suspected users in an effort to uncover Starlink equipment.
Trump and Musk discussed in January how to ensure that Iranians could use Starlink to access the internet during the protests, the White House confirmed at the time.
For months, officials had pushed for Starlink as the most effective way to support anti-regime protests in Iran, alongside or instead of virtual private networks, or VPNs. Mora Namdar, who until December headed the State Department's Middle East bureau, sent a memo in August to Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging the explicit purchase of Starlink devices for delivery to Iran.
While her bureau "funded a variety of VPN and other internet freedom technologies, that is useless when the internet is shut down," she wrote.
A State Department official said the department supports a range of tools, including VPNs and other technologies, to help Iranians stay connected despite internet restrictions and shutdowns. The official told the Journal that the administration is expanding those capabilities and working with international partners to share the costs.
The report added that a handful of American civil organizations are also assisting in the purchase of Starlink terminals, according to US officials.
