JAKARTA - The United States (US) has secretly smuggled 6,000 Starlink satellite internet terminals into Iran after a wave of nationwide protests in January.
The Wall Street Journal quoted several officials as saying that the operation marked the first time Washington had directly facilitated the delivery of Starlink systems to Iran. The delivery was made after Iranian authorities imposed a widespread internet blackout amid protests triggered by economic hardship and a weakening currency, according to the report.
A number of officials said the US State Department bought nearly 7,000 terminals in recent months, mostly in January, after senior officials decided to divert funds from an already running internet freedom program in Iran to acquire the satellite system.
President Donald Trump is said to have known about the shipment, though it is unclear whether he personally approved the plan. The White House declined to comment.
Tehran accuses Washington of instigating the protests, an accusation denied by the US. Trump publicly encouraged Iranians to continue to demonstrate and said that while the riots were underway, help was on the way.
Ownership of Starlink terminals is prohibited in Iran and can be punishable by several years in prison. Nevertheless, analysts and activists estimate that tens of thousands of Iranians use the system to penetrate the government firewall and still access information from abroad.
US State Department data shows that around 30 million Iranians used US-funded VPN services during the protests in 2022.
During the 12-day conflict in June, when Iran imposed an almost total internet blackout following the US and Israeli attacks, an estimated 20 percent of Iranians were still able to gain limited internet access through US-backed VPNs, the report said.
A State Department official said his agency supports a range of technologies to help Iranians stay connected and is working with international partners to expand those capabilities.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
