Starlink has helped some news and images get out of Iran during protests this month despite a government internet blackout. Here's how the technology works—and the risks involved.

Tehran

During widespread anti-regime protests in Iran, the government imposed an internet blackout, making it difficult and illegal to share protest footage. Starlink, operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX, has provided free satellite internet access to help bypass these restrictions, similar to its actions in Ukraine and during previous Iranian blackouts.

Despite its benefits, Starlink terminals in Iran are illegal, expensive, and subject to government crackdowns, including jamming and drone surveillance. Those caught with terminals face severe penalties, and the service's continuity is uncertain, as Musk has previously threatened to cut off access in other conflict zones.

How liable is Starlink as a wartime communications lifeline?

Anti-regime protests rage across Iran amid an internet blackout. Getting videos like these, that show not just protests, but bodies at a morgue, out of the country is illegal. And difficult. One of the ways to get around the blackout is Starlink, part of Elon Musk's SpaceX company, which functions as a satellite internet provider. The company has provided free access after the blackout began. It did the same thing in Iran in 2022. And in Ukraine, after Russia's full-scale invasion. Starlink bypasses national telecom networks using dishes linked to satellites, offering internet connectivity from space. Data moves between satellites using laser links. When it reaches a ground station, a Starlink terminal, it's processed and then sent back the same way. Activists say there are between 50 and 100,000 Starlink terminals in Iran, in a country of about 90 million people. They are illegal and expensive, putting them out of reach of most people. The Iranian regime has deployed military-grade jamming devices to try to disrupt the Starlink signal. Government forces also fly drones, searching for terminals. The penalty for possessing a Starlink terminal in Iran can be severe. Those caught with terminals can be considered spies for Israel or the U.S., which the regime blames for the unrest, and face years in prison. But there's also a risk for the entire protest movement, Elon Musk. The man who controls Starlink has shown himself to be volatile. He already threatened to cut off Ukraine's free satellite service, a warning to anyone in a country where the internet goes dark. Their lifeline can also be cut off.

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Breakdown