Iran using Russian tech to jam free internet services by Elon Musk's Starlink? ‘Never seen such a thing’, says expert | Today News

As protests intensify in Iran amid a nationwide internet blackout, Elon Musk's Starlink has started offering free satellite net services in the country. However, Musk's efforts have been hampered by Tehran, which has reportedly mobilized Russian technology to block the billionaire's free internet push.

SpaceX on Tuesday, US time, began waived the Starlink subscription fee in Iran, Bloomberg and CNN reported, effectively enabling people with receivers to acess the network without paying.

While SpaceX has yet to announce anything officially, the development was confirmed by company sources in the know, and by Ahmad Ahmadian, executive director at the technology nonprofit Holistic Resilience, which works with Iranians to help them secure internet access.

"It’s plug and connect … just put [the satellite terminal] somewhere that has access to a clear view of the sky, and you’re good to go," Ahmad was quoted as saying by CNN.

Though Starlink receivers are banned in Iran, media reports say that many have been smuggled into the country, with Bloomberg reporting an estimated 50,000 units already inside Iran's borders.

The development comes following a phone call between Donald Trump and Musk earlier this week, wherein the US President, who has been vocally supportive of protesters and threatened military intervention in Iran, pushed for Starlink access in the protest-hit nation.

"We may speak to Elon ‘cause as you know, he’s very good at that kind of thing. He’s got a very good company, so we may speak to Elon Musk," Trump had told reporters on Sunday, adding, "In fact, I’m gonna call him as soon as I’m finished with you."

That said, Trump and Musk's push to reconnect protesting Iranians with the world has not gone unanswered, with Iran reportedly deploying Russian technology to stymie internet access within its borders.

According to a report by Forbes, Tehran has deployed military jammers supplied by Russia to shutdown Starlink internet.

While initially, jammers had disrupted 30% of Starlink's uplink and downlink traffic, that number has since risen to 80%.

NetBlocks, which spoke to the Times of Israel on Monday, confirmed the jamming activity by Tehran, with the publication reporting that jammers were targeting GPS signals used by Starlink to locate and enable connections to satellites, leading to localized blackouts.

"It [Starlink internet] is patchy, but still there," NetBlocks was quoted as saying by The Times, which added that while it was not clear how Starlink service was being disrupted, specialists suspect it is the result of jamming Starlink terminals.

That said, as yet, there's no confirmation on what technology is being used to jam Starlink services, and it could very well be a novel one.

"I have been monitoring and researching access to the internet for the past 20 years, and I have never seen such a thing in my life," digital rights advocacy non-profit Miaan Group's Amir Rashidi was quoted as saying by Tech Radar.

Iran, as of Tuesday had been offline for 120 hours as per NetBlocks, with the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei-led government imposing the blackout last week to disconnect protesters from the international community.

As of writing this, the death toll in Iran amid the government crackdown on protests rose to over 2,000, as per the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, with 1,850 protesters being killed.

Protests erupted in Tehran on 28 December 2025 after Iran's currency collapsed and the demonstrations quickly spread nationwide—as of writing this, protests were raging in at least 180 towns and cities, and have shown no sign of slowing down despite the government's brutal crackdown.