A version of this story appeared in the daily Threat Status newsletter from The Washington Times.
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Iran has filed a formal complaint with the United Nations against Elon Musk’s Starlink, alleging the satellite internet provider has been operating illegally in its territory over the last month.
The complaint, submitted to the U.N. International Telecommunication Union, accuses Starlink of operating in Iran without a license in June. According to Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp-affiliated media, Iran sent the complaint late last month in the aftermath of its air war with Israel.
Starlink was officially activated in Iran shortly after Israel launched preemptive attacks on the Islamic Republic’s uranium enrichment sites. Mr. Musk, Starlink’s CEO, announced the activation on X on June 14.
Mr. Musk and other opponents of the Islamic regime hoped that increased internet access during the Iran-Israel war would have resulted in a popular uprising in Iran, like the ones seen in 2022.
Starlink enables customers to access relatively affordable and reliable internet in the most remote areas via the company’s constellation of low-orbit satellites. While it is officially illegal in Iran, more 100,000 residents there use the service, according to the Iranian E-Commerce Scientific Association.
Illegal Starlink users in Iran could face harsh punishments in the coming months. Following Tehran’s war with Israel, in which top Iranian military leaders and nuclear scientists were assassinated, Iran has instituted an espionage crackdown. Part of that crackdown is a new law that could slap Starlink users with a 10-year prison sentence.
