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11:34 13.01.2026 •
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he plans to speak with billionaire Elon Musk about restoring internet in Iran, where authorities have blacked out services for four days amid ongoing anti-government protests, Reuters reports.
"He's very good at that kind of thing, he's got a very good company," Trump told reporters in response to a question about whether he would engage with Musk's SpaceX company, which offers a satellite internet service called Starlink that has been used in Iran.
The flow of information from Iran has been hampered by an internet blackout since Thursday amid the most expansive protests against the country's clerical establishment since 2022.
Musk and Trump have held an on-again, off-again relationship after the billionaire helped fund Trump's winning presidential campaign and subsequently orchestrated massive cuts to the federal government.
Musk has supported providing Starlink to Iranians to help them circumvent the government's restrictions, including amid previous protests in 2022. That year, the Biden White House engaged with Musk to set up Starlink in Iran after the country was engulfed by protests following the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.
The Starlink satellite service has been used in other regions marked by unrest or conflict such as Ukraine, where Musk in 2022 ordered a shutdown of Starlink during a pivotal Ukrainian offensive, Reuters reported.
Iran's current protests began on December 28 in response to soaring prices, before turning against the clerical rulers who have governed since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Why There’s No Starlink Access During Nationwide Shutdown in Iran?
Mobile phone networks across Iran were shut down as well. The technology involved is highly sophisticated and military-grade, and was likely supplied to the government by Russia or China, if not developed domestically, ‘Iranwire’ reports.
Even Starlink satellite connections – once seen as a last resort – have been largely disrupted, intensifying fears about what is happening to protesters and ordinary citizens across the country.
Before the full shutdown, Iran’s internet restrictions were usually complex but limited – authorities relied on partial, localized disruptions rather than a total cut. This time, amid massive nationwide protests, both international and domestic networks were completely severed, and even satellite internet services like Starlink sharply dropped.
So Why Is There No Starlink Access?
Despite reports that tens of thousands of Starlink units are operating inside Iran, the blackout has also reached satellite connections. Internet researcher Amir Rashidi told IranWire that as nationwide protests began, military-grade jamming signals were detected targeting Starlink satellites. According to him, about 30 per cent of Starlink’s uplink and downlink traffic was disrupted in the early hours, rising to more than 80 per cent by around 10 PM local time.
Rashidi said this kind of interference – caused by military equipment known as jammers – had never been witnessed in his 20 years of research. He added that the technology involved is highly sophisticated and military-grade, and was likely supplied to the government by Russia or China, if not developed domestically.
Based on recent estimates, the number of Starlink subscribers in Iran has reached roughly 40,000–50,000 people. Even during Iran’s twelve-day internet shutdown in the summer of 2025 – during the Iran-Israel war – some users managed to access uncensored internet via this satellite service.
Gradually, government-aligned Telegram channels, state media accounts, and some university networks began reappearing online. This clearly shows how Iran’s internet is increasingly being split along lines of privilege - where those trusted by the state are allowed back online.
Mossad spurs Iran protests, says agents with demonstrators in Farsi message
As protests grow across Iran, the Mossad posted an unusual Farsi message urging demonstrators to act, saying it is with them in the streets, amid rising economic pressure and public unrest, ‘The Jerusalem Post’ reveals.
On Monday, the Mossad used its Twitter account in Farsi to encourage Iranians to protest against the Iranian regime, telling them that it will join them during the demonstrations.
“Go out together into the streets. The time has come,” the Mossad wrote.
It continued, “We are with you. Not only from a distance and verbally. We are with you in the field.”
The statement was a rare open acknowledgment from the Mossad regarding ongoing operations in Iran.
Mossad Director David Barnea released a rare statement foreshadowing the spy agency’s activities in Tehran, telling the general public that Israel “will [continue to] be there, like we have been there.”
The Twitter statements were issued as Iran protests spiked over the collapse of Iran’s Rial currency and a rise in fuel prices, as well as recent crises regarding the supply of water nationwide.
It was unclear if the Mossad was revealing more of its hand because it truly believed that it could help the current protests topple the regime, or if the statements are part of a broader and longer-term psychological warfare.
Guterres is doing something that is not his job
UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on Iranian authorities to exercise maximum restraint and ensure access to information in the country, his spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, said on Sunday.
"The Secretary-General urges the Iranian authorities to exercise maximum restraint and to refrain from the unnecessary or disproportionate use of force," Dujarric said in a statement.
According to the document, the head of the world organization also urges measures to ensure access to information in the country, including the restoration of communications.
Iran’s FM says unrest under control, Tehran has evidence of US role in protests
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Monday that the situation in the country had come under control, and told a gathering of foreign ambassadors that Tehran had extensive evidence of what he described as US and Israeli involvement in recent “terrorist movements” in Iran.
“From January 10 until today, we are in the next phase, in which the situation has come under control,” Araghchi said.
“We have many documents and pieces of evidence of US and Israeli involvement in the terrorist actions of recent days in Iran,” he said.
…The vaunted American technology suffered a serious blow in Iran. The routine American operation to influence public opinion through propaganda is failing in Iran.
Israel also provokes a coup d'état in Iran.
Successful blocking of Starlink – this is yet another example of how the concept of “color revolutions,” invented and promoted by American neo-Trotskyists and now being implemented in Iran, can and should be resisted.
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