WSJ: US Has Smuggled Thousands Of Starlink Terminals To Iran

• 12.02.2026, 21:49

Iran shuts down the internet during mass protests.

The US authorities conducted a covert operation to transfer thousands of Starlink satellite terminals to Iran. This was reported by The Wall Street Journal with reference to representatives of the administration of President Donald Trump. According to them, the purpose of the operation was to provide local dissidents with Internet access to bypass restrictions imposed by Iranian authorities.

According to the newspaper, about 6,000 terminals were imported into Iran. This marked the first time that the US was directly involved in importing Starlink equipment into Iran. In total, the newspaper's sources claim, the US State Department purchased 7,000 terminals. For this purpose, administration officials redirected some of the funds previously intended to support other projects in Iran. It is reported that President Donald Trump was aware of what was going on.