Covert Network Smuggles Starlink Terminals Into Iran During Internet Blackout

Iran’s internet blackout entered its tenth week on May 3, as a covert network continued moving Starlink terminals into the country through “covert routes,” according to Arabian Business and a BBC investigation described in The National.

“A covert network is moving Starlink terminals intoIran”

Arabian Business

SpaceX’s Starlink remains banned in Iran, and the compact terminals and routers are described as allowing users to link directly to satellites and bypass domestic controls.

BBC

Arabian Business says authorities first imposed the blackout on January 8 during anti-government protests, with connections easing in February before wider restrictions returned after military strikes on February 28.

NetBlocks is cited in both Arabian Business and The National as saying most users have endured more than 60 days of near total isolation from international networks, while only a small number of state-approved or specially issued connections remain active.

The National adds that the shutdown began after US and Israeli strikes on February 28 and that the broader pattern reflects a sustained effort by authorities to restrict access to international networks while maintaining a tightly controlled domestic intranet.

Arabian Business reports that local estimates place direct daily losses at $30 million to $40 million, and it also says NetBlocks recorded tighter action against VPNs and satellite terminals during the blackout.

The reporting also describes Starlink hardware as one of the few remaining channels to the open internet, even as Iranian authorities classify the hardware as illegal imports and warn that possession and distribution can trigger severe penalties under security and wartime provisions.

The reporting includes direct testimony from a member of the smuggling network, identified as Sahand, who told the BBC he had sent a dozen terminals into Iran since January.

Arabian Business quotes Sahand saying, “If even one extra person is able to access the internet, I think it’s successful,” and The National repeats the same line in its account of the BBC investigation.

Bitcoin News

Both outlets describe the effort as being funded by Iranians abroad and aimed at helping people share information from inside the country.

Arabian Business says Fars News Agency has detailed seizures of hundreds of Starlink devices across several provinces, and it adds that Iranian authorities classify the hardware as illegal imports.

The National frames the enforcement escalation as a widening crackdown on VPNs and satellite terminals, with NetBlocks describing connectivity at times reduced to near-total isolation for most users.

Arabian Business also says Iranian authorities have introduced a temporary Internet Pro scheme for businesses, while state services and approved users continue to operate on a tightly controlled domestic intranet.

Human rights groups are cited in Arabian Business as saying satellite access has helped footage of arrests and alleged abuses reach audiences outside Iran, and it also reports that WITNESS estimated in January that at least 50,000 terminals were already in the country.

Multiple outlets describe a death tied to Starlink use during the blackout, with the accounts centering on Hesam Alaeddin, a 40-year-old man detained in Tehran over alleged use of Starlink satellite internet equipment.

“As the digital blockade imposed by the Iranian regime reaches its tenth week, reports indicate that an individual has allegedly died for using Starlink devices to circumvent it”

Bitcoin News

Iran International says a source familiar with the matter told the outlet that Hesam Alaeddin “died after being severely beaten by government agents,” and it links the case to alleged bypassing of the digital blackout.

Bitcoin News similarly claims that “an individual has allegedly died for using Starlink devices to circumvent it,” naming Hesam Alaeddin as a 40-year-old man and describing him as “beaten to death.”

The New York Post adds a more detailed narrative, saying Hesam Alaeddin, “a 40-year-old father of two,” was beaten to death after being arrested for using Starlink to access the internet, and it quotes Reza Pahlavi writing on X that “The brutal and criminal regime of the Islamic Republic killed Hesam Alaeddin under torture after he was reportedly arrested for using Starlink.”

The New York Post also says Iranian regime police searched his home, and it reports that his body was confiscated and wasn’t returned until his family agreed to not speak about what happened, while it adds that he was finally buried Wednesday under tight police security.

While the outlets differ in phrasing—Bitcoin News uses “allegedly” and the New York Post uses “reportedly”—they converge on the central elements: Starlink use, detention, and a fatal beating.

The case is also placed in a broader context of enforcement and punishment, with Arabian Business noting that officials have warned possession and distribution can trigger severe penalties under security and wartime provisions.

Iran’s legal framework and enforcement actions are described in Mehr News Agency and in other reporting that discusses penalties for Starlink use and smuggling.

Mehr News Agency quotes Amin Fallahnejad, a first-class attorney at law, saying that until the law tightening penalties for espionage was enacted on 6 Mehr 1404, there was no standalone regulation regarding Starlink, and that enforcement actions were largely based on old laws related to prohibitions on satellite equipment.

The National

Fallahnejad refers to Article 5 of this law, saying the Parliament criminalized unauthorised satellite Internet devices, including Starlink, and divided offenders into three categories.

For personal use, he says the law provides “imprisonment of 6 months to 2 years and confiscation of the equipment,” and he adds that the first category includes those who use, carry, possess, buy, sell, or import these devices for personal consumption.

For those who supply, produce, distribute, install, operate or import with the intent to distribute, Fallahnejad says “a disciplinary imprisonment of Grade 5 (2 to 5 years) is provided.”

Mehr News Agency also reports border seizures, quoting Brig. Gen. Ahmad-Ali Goudarzi announcing the seizure of 51 Starlink satellite devices at the borders of Baneh County.

It adds that Brigadier Hussein Rahimi announced that “in total more than 108 Starlink satellite devices have been seized,” and it ties the crackdown to the broader warnings about severe penalties.

The sources also present competing narratives about who is supplying Starlink into Iran, with multiple outlets citing the Wall Street Journal and American officials while others emphasize Iranian accusations and denials.

“A covert network is sneaking Starlink internet terminals into war-hit Iran, according to a BBC investigation, offering a digital lifeline in a country under tight online control”

The National

Shafaqna reports that the Wall Street Journal, citing American officials, said the Donald Trump administration secretly sent about 6,000 satellite internet kits into Iran, describing it as the first time the United States has directly shipped Starlink to Iran.

Al-Masla Al-Hadath Kama Hadath

Shafaqna adds that American officials said the State Department purchased close to 7,000 Starlink terminals, “most of them in January,” to help circumvent the internet shutdown, and it says Trump was aware of the delivery.

The same claim appears in خبر فوری and میدل ایست نیوز, both citing the Wall Street Journal and describing shipments of about 6,000 terminals and State Department purchases of about 7,000 terminals, with the bulk procured in January.

In contrast, Jahan News says the Wall Street Journal claimed the United States imported “thousands of Starlink devices” into Iran in recent weeks and frames it as covert support for anti-government efforts, while it also states that officials of the United States denied direct involvement.

Jahan News further includes Iran’s Foreign Ministry emphasis that US sanctions are “crimes against humanity,” and it asserts that the United States has imported Starlink satellites into Iran while sanctions blocked entry of many items Iranians need.

Meanwhile, Arabian Business and The National focus on a covert network and on Iranians abroad funding purchases, describing the pipeline as shifting terminals across borders and into private hands inside Iran.

The sources describe the stakes of the blackout and the Starlink crackdown in economic, human rights, and information terms.

Arabian Business says digital outages are hitting freelancers, small traders and service firms that rely on customer messaging, online sales and cross-border payments, and it reports that local estimates place direct daily losses at $30 million to $40 million.

It also says Iran has restored limited access for selected businesses, yet wider connectivity remains constrained, while state services and approved users continue to operate on a tightly controlled domestic intranet.

The National and Arabian Business both describe the domestic intranet as tightly controlled while Starlink terminals paired with routers connect directly to satellites to bypass state restrictions.

Human rights groups are cited in Arabian Business as saying satellite access has helped footage of arrests and alleged abuses reach audiences outside Iran, and it also says black market demand continues to expand because fixed-line and mobile access remain heavily restricted for most households.

In parallel, the Mehr News Agency legal reporting underscores the personal risk by describing penalties that include “execution or imprisonment of Grade 4 (5 to 10 years)” for acts committed with intent to oppose the regime or for espionage.

The combined reporting also points to continued enforcement and continued demand, with Arabian Business saying NetBlocks recorded tighter action against VPNs and satellite terminals during the blackout and with Fars News Agency detailing seizures of hundreds of Starlink devices across several provinces.