Iranian regime targeting Starlink users in bid to squash leaking protest footage

Iranian authorities are targeting Starlink users successful an effort to unopen down leaks of protestation footage amid the regime's ongoing blockade against net access, quality rights groups say.

Iran chopped disconnected nationalist net entree arsenic anti-regime protests ramped up past week, leaving Starlink arsenic 1 of the fewer ways Iranians tin stock images astir the regime's deadly crackdown.

Starlink remains amerciable successful Iran, but rights groups accidental they person smuggled thousands of Starlink terminals into the country. The government's efforts to unopen down net entree has slowed the service's connectivity, but users are inactive capable to nonstop footage to trusted third-parties who tin past stock it to societal media, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

SpaceX, the institution down Starlink, did not instantly respond to a petition for remark from Fox News Digital.

IRANIAN MILITARY LEADER THREATENS PREEMPTIVE ATTACK AFTER TRUMP COMMENTS

Fires are lit arsenic protesters rally connected January 8, 2026, successful Tehran, Iran. (Getty Images)

President Donald Trump confirmed connected Sunday that helium planned to talk with SpaceX laminitis and CEO Elon Musk astir boosting Starlink's connectivity successful Iran.

"He's precise bully astatine that benignant of thing, he's got a precise bully company," Trump told reporters.

SpaceX antecedently worked with erstwhile President Joe Biden's medication to enactment Starlink entree successful Iran successful 2022 amid protests against the decease of Mahsa Amini. Amini, a 22-year-old woman, was hospitalized and aboriginal died aft being detained by Iran's morality constabulary for a formal codification infringement.

TRUMP SAYS IRAN 'STARTING TO' CROSS US RED LINES AS PROTESTERS DIE IN GOVERNMENT CRACKDOWN

Elon Musk has worked antecedently to grow Starlink entree successful Iran. (Chesnot/Getty Images)

Iran's existent protests arose for economical reasons, with Iranians outraged astatine precocious prices and demanding an extremity to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's regime.

Since the unrest broke out, Iranian authorities person killed astatine slightest 646 protesters, with thousands much deaths expected to beryllium confirmed. Reuters reported the decease toll astatine 2,000, citing an unnamed Iranian official.

The White House confirmed connected Monday that Trump was weighing whether to weaponry Iran successful absorption to the crackdown.

President Donald Trump has threatened subject enactment against Iran if it continues to usage deadly unit against protesters. (REUTERS/Nathan Howard)

White House property caput Karoline Leavitt told reporters that diplomacy remains Trump’s archetypal option, but that the president "has shown he’s unafraid to usage subject options if and erstwhile helium deems necessary."

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"He surely doesn’t privation to spot radical being killed successful the streets of Tehran. And unluckily that’s thing we are seeing close now," she added.

Fox News' Landon Mion contributed to this report.