Iran Blocks Starlink Website After Elon Musk Expands Access to the Country

UPDATE: The internet monitoring group NetBlocks says it hasn't detected Iran blocking Starlink.com from within the country. But it's possible the Iranian government's widespread crackdown of internet services has nevertheless disrupted access to Starlink.com.

"Our metrics indicate that Starlink's website isn't subject to general filtering measures in Iran and remains largely available as of today," said Alp Toker, director for NetBlocks. "That said users who are offline or otherwise affected by rolling mobile blackouts and regional internet disruptions may not be able to get through to this or other websites."

Original story:

The Iranian government is now reportedly blocking access to Starlink.com after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said he was activating the satellite internet service for users in Iran. 

London-based Iran International reported the blocking on Saturday, and included a screenshot of the Starlink.com website being inaccessible from within the country, citing reports from local media outlets and users. 

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Officially, the Starlink.com site isn't offering sales to Iran. But last Friday, Musk tweeted he was activating Starlink in the country after the White House relaxed sanctions to allow tech companies to expand internet services to Iran. The US did so in response to Iran’s ongoing crackdown on social media and cellular services in a bid to stymie widespread protests in the country. 

SpaceX’s Starlink system could help local users access the internet, free of censorship. The technology works by leveraging orbiting satellites, which can beam high-speed broadband to almost any location on the planet. 

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Still, it won’t be easy for local Iranian users to gain access to SpaceX’s satellite internet service. That’s because Starlink requires the customer to own a $599 dish, which can receive signals from the company’s satellites in orbit. The same Starlink hardware also comes in a large box, making it harder to smuggle the equipment into the country.

In addition, the Iranian government has signaled it’ll stop Starlink from serving users in the country. On Sunday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said: “By loosening some communications-related sanctions, while maintaining the maximum pressure, America is seeking to advance its own goals against Iran with hypocrisy. Attempts at violating the Iranian sovereignty will not go unanswered.”

Recommended by Our Editors

Starlink Speeds Drop Significantly in the US Amid Congestion Woes

Curious About Starlink's 'Best Effort' Tier? Early Users Give Rave Reviews

Dish: SpaceX Request for Mobile Starlink Service a 'Lawless, Pirate Application'

So far, SpaceX has declined to comment on how it’ll bring Starlink to Iran. But Karim Sadjadpour, an Iranian expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said he spoke with Musk on the matter. 

“He gave me permission to share this: ‘Starlink is now activated in Iran. It requires the use of terminals in-country, which I suspect the [Iranian] government will not support, but if anyone can get terminals into Iran, they will work,’” Sadjadpour wrote in a tweet. 

Sadjadpour added that the Biden administration officials are open to helping to bring Starlink terminals to Iran, similar to how the US and SpaceX shipped thousands of Starlink dishes to Ukraine. “But there are two main challenges, financial and logistical,” he said. This would include spending millions to buy the Starlink dishes and somehow getting them inside a hostile country.  

It’s why making Starlink available to Iranian residents at a large scale probably won't happen soon. In the meantime, the protests in Iran have reached the 10th consecutive day, and resulted in the arrests of hundreds of people. The protests began after after Iran's "morality police" allegedly beat 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who later died, for wearing a hijab improperly.