WSJ: US sends Starlink terminals to Iran amid protests

The Trump administration secretly delivered thousands of Starlink satellite internet terminals to Iran after the Iranian regime’s violent crackdown on nationwide demonstrations last month, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports, citing U.S. officials. 

The move aimed to help dissidents maintain online access after Tehran severely restricted internet connectivity.

"After Iranian authorities smothered mounting unrest in January by killing thousands of protesters and severely cutting internet connectivity, the U.S. smuggled roughly 6,000 of the satellite-internet kits into the country, the first time the U.S. has directly sent Starlink into Iran," the newspaper writes.

Following mounting unrest in January, during which thousands of protesters were reportedly killed and the government imposed tight internet blackouts, the United States smuggled approximately 6,000 Starlink kits into Iran. This marked the first direct shipment of Starlink technology from the U.S. to Iran.

The State Department had previously purchased nearly 7,000 Starlink terminals, most of them in January, to assist anti-regime activists in circumventing Iran’s internet restrictions. Officials said the purchases came after senior Trump administration appointees decided to redirect funds from other internet-freedom initiatives toward the Starlink effort.

President Donald Trump was reportedly aware of the deliveries, though it remains unclear whether he personally approved the operation.

Tehran has repeatedly accused Washington of fomenting dissent and orchestrating last month’s protests in the country of 90 million people, claims the U.S. has denied. The demonstrations erupted over years of economic mismanagement, a weakening currency, and hard-line governance.

While the U.S. maintains it had no direct involvement in the protests, the Starlink operation underscores the Trump administration’s active support for anti-regime efforts in Iran, revealing a more direct engagement than previously reported.

By Vugar Khalilov