Iran protests: Khamenei’s severe crackdown on communication, disrupts Elon Musk’s Starlink access with military grade jammers, is Russia, China involved?

As the protest in Iran is raging high, so is the response of the Islamic regime which is brutally cracking down on the protestors. Iran has been boiling under massive violence for 18 days straight as more than 500 people have been killed. On the 12th day of the protest, Khamenei's government imposed an internet blackout across the country.  

Amid this severe crackdown, including internet shutdown, tens of thousands have been pouring into the streets raising their loud voices against the brutal regime. US tech billionaire Elon Musk’s satellite-based internet service, Starlink, has now been the only communication alternative for protestors in Iran. It is now their backup plan.  

Demonstrators have been using it to share images and videos of what’s happening in Iran and all that the government is hiding with the world. However, even that option is now vulnerable as it has come under the government’s attack. 

How Khamenei’s Islamic regime disrupted Starlink’s network?  

The country is under a digital blackout.  

According to reports, tens of thousands of Starlink units are operating in the country. Despite this, the internet shutdown has affected satellite connections. Speaking with the IranWire, internet researcher Amir Rashidi said that military-grade jamming signals affecting Starlink satellites were found to be operating when the countrywide protest started. He also said that at least 30% of Starlink’s uplink and downlink traffic was initially disturbed which has now gone up to more than 80%. 

The publication cited that Khamenei has ordered the activation of a “kill switch” to disrupt Startlink’s access. Rashidi further said that this kind of operation involving military equipment that is called jammers had not been seen in his research of 20 years. According to him, the said technology is highly sophisticated and of higher military-grade that it seemed likely supplied by Russia or China, in case it's not indigenous.  

This has raised serious concerns as to the intensity of the ongoing volatile situation in Iran. 

How much is Starlink used in Iran? 

The huge network of jammers is spread far and wide across the country, but the level of connectivity of service depends on location. According to IranWire citing official estimates, Starlink subscribers in Iran has gone up to around 40,000–50,000 people.  

What's the current situation in Iran? 

On late Sunday night, a countrywide shutdown of mobile phone networks was seen, meanwhile home Wi-Fi network remained active shortly, however, without access to the full internet access this was not useful. Online banking systems, ride-hailing apps like Snapp and Tapsi, online shopping platforms, country-based social networks everything was snapped including international phone calls. All kinds of calling facilities were broken. 

Sunday night also saw massive gunfire in Golestan, the commercial hub of Ahvaz, the provincial capital of oil-rich Khuzestan province. Factions that did not voiced against the regime during the Iran–Iraq war, like conservative merchants, middle-class neighborhoods, and even deeply religious residents came out in protest which was a rare sight.  

IranWire reported that the protestors have described the people as moving beyond a psychological threshold. Quoting 28-year-old Qasem, an Ahvaz resident, the publication said, “This time, people’s fear has disappeared,” as he called the protests as unprecedented in scale and intensity.