According to the Associated Press, Starlink, the satellite internet service owned by SpaceX and Elon Musk, has begun providing its services free of charge inside Iran.
Kabul 24: Mehdi Yahyanejad, an Iranian activist based in Los Angeles who has played a key role in smuggling Starlink terminals into the country, confirmed the development to the AP.
He stated: “We can confirm that free subscriptions for Starlink terminals are now fully active and usable. We tested this ourselves using a newly activated terminal inside Iran.”Other digital rights activists and online sources have also verified the news through messages and posts, reporting that Starlink has waived the monthly subscription fees for Iranian users.
Accounts that were previously inactive or suspended due to lack of payment are now connecting without any charge. The change reportedly took effect on Tuesday, January 13, 2026.This move comes as Iranian authorities have imposed near-total internet blackouts across the country in response to widespread nationwide protests.
Ground-based and mobile internet access has been reduced to less than 1% of normal levels in many areas, severely limiting communication.
Starlink’s low-Earth-orbit satellite constellation offers one of the few reliable ways for Iranians to bypass government censorship and maintain contact with the outside world.
Activists report that SpaceX engineers are working around the clock to counter jamming attempts by security forces, and software updates have been pushed to improve signal strength and resilience.However, using Starlink remains illegal in Iran.
Authorities are actively searching for and confiscating satellite dishes, with reports of raids on buildings in northern Tehran to locate hidden equipment.
Experts caution that the number of terminals in the country is still limited (mostly smuggled in), so the service cannot cover the entire 92-million population—but it has become a critical lifeline for protesters, citizen journalists, and activists sharing videos and reports from the ground.
The protests, which have resulted in more than 2,500 deaths according to human rights groups, continue amid brutal crackdowns.
Starlink’s decision to provide free access is seen as indirect support for the Iranian people’s struggle for freedom and access to uncensored information.
SpaceX has not yet issued an official statement confirming the policy change, but the reports have been widely covered by major outlets including Bloomberg, CNN, and The New York Times.
