Starlink's Courageous Role Amidst Iran's Protests and Internet Shutdown

Thu Jan 15 2026 11:02:55 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In response to Iran's internet blackout during widespread protests, Starlink has reportedly waived fees, allowing users to connect despite significant risks. Iranians are using this technology to communicate vital information, often at great personal peril.

Starlink has become a crucial lifeline for Iranians cut off by government-imposed internet restrictions in the midst of ongoing protests. Users, despite facing potential imprisonment, are employing the technology to communicate critical information to the outside world as authorities intensify their crackdown. The move to make Starlink free further emphasizes the desperation for connection in a highly oppressive environment.

Starlink has reportedly waived monthly subscription payments for users inside Iran after its government shut down the internet last Thursday - cutting off millions of people from their families, livelihoods and access to information, during a deadly crackdown on protests.

The satellite technology has become a vital communications lifeline for some of those in the country trying to tell the outside world what has been happening on the ground in recent days.

Two people in Iran told BBC Persian their device was running on Tuesday night even though they had not been keeping up with subscription payments. The director of an organisation that helps Iranians get online also told BBC Persian that Starlink had been made free.

The satellite technology, which belongs to Elon Musk's SpaceX company, provides internet to tens of thousands of people in Iran, despite the fact it is illegal there. Since the internet was shut down, it has become one of the last, if not the last, remaining channels for Iranians to communicate with the outside world.

Using the service in Iran carries a punishment of up to two years in prison and authorities have reportedly been searching for Starlink dishes to stop people from connecting to the internet.

They're going onto rooftops and checking the surrounding buildings, says Parsa - not his real name, who spoke to BBC Persian using a Starlink connection.

But the device is costly and beyond the means of many in Iran - so making it free may lead to its wider use.

Speaking to Al Jazeera TV on Monday, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the internet had been cut off after we confronted terrorist operations and realised orders were coming from outside the country.

Despite the dangers, Starlink has become indispensable for many Iranians communicating what is happening inside the country to the rest of the world. I'd rather not think about it [getting caught]. It can be very frightening, Parsa says.

However, BBC Persian has confirmed through multiple sources in Iran that the kits are used by many people wanting to communicate without censorship. Parsa cautions that getting caught using the device is not the only danger. If Iranians want to send videos that are shared or intercepted online, they need to understand that if they record them from home or from the place where the device is kept, their risk increases, and the government can identify the location.