Iran crippled Starlink and why the rest of the world should worry The service became synonymous with censorship-proof

[riversedge]

Iran crippled Starlink and why the rest of the world should worry

The service became synonymous with censorship-proof connectivity. Iran has just proved that assumption wrong.

https://restofworld.org/2026/iran-starlink-internet-shutdown/?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
By Indranil Ghosh 13 January 2026


Iran is systematically crippling Starlink, the satellite internet service said to be almost impossible to jam.

Military-grade GPS jammers deployed since January 8 have cut satellite internet performance by as much as 80% in parts of the country, according toAmir Rashidi, director of digital rights at the Miaan Group, a U.S.-based nonprofit focused on Iranian internet censorship and digital rights.

“The level of violence by the government is unlike anything I have ever witnessed,” Rashidi wrote on LinkedIn. “The Islamic Republic is killing to survive.”

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reports at least 572 people have been killed and more than 10,600 arrested since protests erupted on December 28. Iran Human Rights, based in Norway, said the real toll could be far higher. Iranian Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi warned of a potential “massacre under the cover of a sweeping communications blackout.”

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Secrecy means they don't want the world to know what they're doing. /nt