By Maryam Manzoori | 2024-09-17

Iranian regime officials, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its proxies have been using the internet and social media platforms for years to spread disinformation and propaganda, and to recruit forces and obfuscate their illicit activities inside Iran and across the Middle East.

Meanwhile, the Iranian regime has simultaneously denied the Iranian people the right to freely access information.

Iranian social media users have been sharing images of satellite terminals being installed on rooftops across various cities in Iran in a direct challenge to the regime's censorship apparatus.

The Starlink satellite service, designed, owned and operated by US company SpaceX, enables Iranians to bypass the regime's restrictions on internet access and social media platforms.

Starlink terminals began to appear in Iran around two years ago. Recent social media posts suggest interest in the satellite service has grown significantly, despite government restrictions on the technology and the high cost.

Frustrated by slow internet speeds and limited access to social media platforms such as YouTube, X and Instagram, many Iranians who currently rely on VPNs to bypass blocked pages have turned to satellite technology as an alternative.

In several posts on X, a user who claims to sell Starlink equipment and services showcases the new generation of Starlink kits being provided discreetly to customers in Iran and notes that "inventory is selling fast."

Some Iranians are reportedly sharing the costs within multi-family apartment buildings, just as they did with banned satellite dishes in the 1990s.

Suppressing freedom of speech

In Iran, where the government controls all telecommunications infrastructure, the introduction of satellite technologies poses technical and legal challenges.

"Starlink, with the support of the US, has started its illegal operation within the territory of Iran. Iran reserves its right to take any necessary measures against any threat to its sovereignty and territorial integrity," former Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned in February 2023.

Individuals who received telecommunications equipment reportedly have faced arrest in Iran on charges that they are using the equipment to spark unrest in Zahedan and spy for foreign countries.

"While the Islamic Republic's judiciary has said that using satellite internet itself is not a crime, the equipment required to access it is considered smuggled," IranWire reported September 10.

"Thus, carrying, storing, supplying, or selling these devices is illegal."

A tech journalist, speaking with Pishtaz on condition of anonymity, warned that the IRGC, which controls certain smuggling networks, is likely to try to monitor the activities of Starlink users.

In December 2022, former head of Tehran's Union of Telecommunication Providers Mehdi Mohebi estimated that 800 Starlink satellites have entered Iran, while SpaceX said that close to 100 Starlink satellites were active in the country.

The Iranian regime routinely uses internet shutdowns to limit access to information, especially during its deadly crackdowns on Iranian uprisings, including in 2019 and 2022.

Internet shutdowns have enabled the regime to use violence against protesters without the fear of being exposed, limiting the ability of the Iranian people to share information, photos and videos on social media.