In The News
Stealth Signals Are Bypassing Iran’s Internet Blackout – IEEE Spectrum
On 8 January 2026, the Iranian government imposed a near-total communications shutdown. It was the country’s first full information blackout: For weeks, the internet was off across all provinces while services including the government-run intranet, VPNs, text messaging, mobile calls, and even landlines were severely throttled. It was an unprecedented lockdown that left more than 90 million people cut off…
The U.S. Secretly Sent Starlink Terminals to Iran in January – National Review
From the January 12 edition of the Morning Jolt, entitled, “How to Help the Iranian People”: “Up until last year, the U.S. State Department provided financial support to organizations that provide free virtual private network (VPN) technology to Iranians, allowing circumvention of the Tehran regime’s censorship efforts. At least one organization, NetFreedomPioneers, is continuing the effort…
Quiet efforts keep information flowing during Iran’s digital blackout – Iran International
Iran’s near-total internet blackout since January 8 did not only shut down social media but collapsed the country’s last channels to the outside world, isolating families and sharply limiting what evidence of the crackdown could escape…
Silencing a Nation: Iran and Internet Blackouts – War on the Rocks
Evan Firoozi and Emilia James from NetFreedom Pioneers join Nicole for a timely episode of Unspent Rounds to discuss the recent communication blackout in Iran, what their organization is doing to assist protestors on the ground…
Iran blocked the internet amid deadly protests. Some voices are still getting through – NPR
Weeks into an internet blackout in Iran, NPR speaks to a protester who is still online and a U.S.-based activist who is trying to get more Starlink terminals into the country to get more people online.
Bloody crackdown appears to have quelled Iran protests for now – ABC News
An extraordinarily violent crackdown by Iranian security forces appears to have succeeded for now in driving protesters from the streets, according to activists and analysts who managed to speak with people inside the country despite the information blackout. Demonstrations began in late December with protesters chanting in Tehran against rising inflation and the falling value of the national currency before spreading across Iran and becoming more explicitly anti-government…
Under Iran’s internet blackout, SpaceX’s Starlink is a lifeline — if it can stay online – NBC News
As Iran’s national internet blackout stretches to its second week, the satellite internet service Starlink has become a crucial lifeline for many citizens to connect with the outside world — and one that the government appears to be trying to shut down. That’s pushing some Iranians to get creative with how they use the service…
Iran signals fast trials and executions for protesters, despite Trump’s warning – NPR
Iran’s judiciary head signaled Wednesday there would be fast trials and executions ahead for suspects detained in nationwide protests despite a warning from U.S. President Donald Trump. The comments by Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei came as activists had warned hangings of those detained could come soon. The security force crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,586, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported…
Trump promised to help Iran’s protesters. Here’s what he can actually do – The Observer
“HELP IS ON ITS WAY” Donald Trump promised protesters in Iran as the regime launched a violent crackdown that has killed thousands. Days on, the US president has yet to come to their rescue, and on Wednesday the prospect of US intervention appeared to recede…
Musk’s Starlink offering free satellite internet service in Iran, activists say – The Hill
SpaceX has made its Starlink technology free for users in Iran after the government implemented an internet blackout last week to stifle information about ongoing deadly protests, according to activists inside the country. The company, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, waived fees for its service, meaning Iranians with Starlink devices can now access satellite internet without a subscription, according to international technology nonprofit NetFreedom Pioneers…
Starlink Users in Iran Get Free Internet Access, Nonprofits Say – The New York Times
Iran jams Starlink, protesters’ lifeline. Trump, Musk say that won’t stand. – The Washington Post
President Donald Trump has appealed to Elon Musk to help Iranian protesters circumvent a government-imposed internet blackout, underscoring the frontline role Musk’s satellite company Starlink is playing in U.S. foreign policy. Iran’s government disconnected its 90 million people from the internet on Thursday, in a drastic effort to quell massive nationwide protests against the regime…
How to Help the Iranian People – National Review
The Iranian mullahs have run their country’s economy into the ground, and their currency is crashing. The long-suffering Iranian people are mad as hell and aren’t going to take it anymore. And the regime in Tehran is responding in the way they’ve responded to any challenge to their authority since 1979 — shooting at people who can’t shoot back…