Rrestofworld.org•2026-01-13

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

AI-generated illustration

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

Starlink was designed to withstand exactly this kind of censorship. Its thousands of low-Earth orbit satellites, shifting frequencies, and independence from terrestrial infrastructure made it the ultimate fail-safe for activists, journalists and militaries operating under blackout conditions. Russia tried jamming the satellite service in Ukraine starting in 2022, and SpaceX, which operates Starlink, pushed software updates that quickly countered the attacks. Tehran appears to have succeeded where Moscow failed. SpaceX founder Elon Musk shipped terminals to Ukraine after Russia’s invasion and activated beams over Iran during the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests. The service became synonymous with censorship-proof connectivity. Iran has just proved that assumption wrong. The implications extend beyond Iran. In Myanmar, Sudan, and other conflict zones, Starlink has become critical infrastructure for rebels, aid workers, and journalists. If Iran’s jamming playbook spreads, that workaround becomes far less reliable.