Iran disconnected the Islamic Republic from the rest of the world late Thursday, cutting off internet access and telephone connections as nationwide protests over the country’s economy challenged the government, the Associated Press reported. AP said the shutdown began just after 8 p.m. Thursday.
AP reported that Iran severed communications lines that connect Iranians to family and contacts abroad, including in the United States, Europe and elsewhere. The move sharply limited the ability to share images and witness accounts of the protests, AP said.
AP also reported that the shutdown could provide cover for a violent crackdown after the Trump administration warned Iran’s government about consequences for further deaths among demonstrators. The report described an official warning that anyone taking part in protests would be considered an “enemy of God,” carrying a possible death-penalty charge.
In an interview, Azam Jangravi, a cybersecurity expert in Toronto who opposes Iran’s government, described distress among people abroad trying to follow events in Iran. “You can’t understand our feelings. My brothers, my cousins, they will go on the street. You can’t imagine the anxiety of the Iranian diaspora,” Jangravi said. She added, as her voice cracked: “A lot of people are being killed and injured by the Islamic Republic of Iran, and we don’t know who.”
AP said this was the third time Iran had shut down internet connectivity from the outside world, following earlier cutoffs during major unrest. The first was in 2019 during protests triggered by a spike in government-subsidized gasoline prices, when AP reported more than 300 people were killed. The second was during 2022 protests after the death of Mahsa Amini following her arrest by the country’s morality police over allegedly not wearing her hijab; AP said more than 500 people died in a monthslong crackdown.
Against that backdrop, AP reported that while Starlink connectivity played a role in the 2022 protests, its use has expanded in Iran despite the government not authorizing the service. AP said the service is illegal to possess and use in Iran, and it described estimates from an Iranian official that tens of thousands of Starlink receivers were present in the country a year earlier. AP also cited Los Angeles-based internet freedom activist Mehdi Yahyanejad saying the estimate sounded right, and he said Starlink became a key channel for getting videos out after connectivity was disrupted.
The report said Iranian authorities have also been interfering with technical systems Starlink relies on. AP reported that since Iran’s 12-day war with Israel last June, Iran has been disrupting GPS signals, likely to reduce the effectiveness of drones. AP cited Amir Rashidi, director of digital rights and security at the Miaan Group, saying that since Thursday he had seen about a 30% loss in packets sent by Starlink devices, and about an 80% loss in some areas. Rashidi said, “I believe the Iranian government is doing something beyond GPS jamming, like in Ukraine where Russia tried to jam Starlink,” and suggested it may be using mobile jammers similar to earlier efforts to disrupt satellite television receivers.
AP said the International Telecommunication Union has called on Iran to stop jamming in the past, and it reported Iran has been advocating at the ITU for Starlink service to be stopped. AP also reported that it appears most information coming out of Iran since Thursday night has been transmitted through Starlink, which carries dangers for people possessing devices.
Jangravi said it was hard to use Starlink because people could be arrested and executed, and authorities could claim they were working for Israel or the United States. She described the alternative as also worsening visibility from abroad, while AP reported that Yahyanejad warned the protest momentum may not last without change.
Yahyanejad said, “This sort of nonviolent protest is not sustainable when the violence (by security forces) is so extreme,” and he added: “Unless something changes in the next two or three days, these protests can die down, too.” He concluded: “If there’s any help, it needs to come soon.”