Could Starlink help break internet blackout in Iran? Trump turns to Elon Musk

• Iran has shut down internet services as demonstrators take to the streets to protest the government.
• President Donald Trump stated he would speak with SpaceX founder Elon Musk about restoring internet access in the nation.
• Starlink, which is not officially licensed in Iran, uses a constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites to provide internet.
• SpaceX has previously provided Starlink services during other global conflicts and natural disasters.

SpaceX's internet satellite service known as Starlink is reportedly accessible in Iran for free, even amid a nationwide communications blackout as anti-government protesters take to the streets.

Iran has almost completely shut down internet services in the nation to curtail communications as demonstrations against the nation's regime have entered their third week. Human rights organizations have increasingly sounded the alarm over the government's deadly crackdown on protests, which has prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to threaten to intervene.

Aside from the potential for U.S. military intervention, Trump also signaled that he would have a conversation with billionaire Elon Musk, whose SpaceX rocket company is responsible for deploying into orbit internet-beaming Starlink satellites.

Now, several media reports have surfaced indicating that Starlink is available in Iran, even though the service has been formally banned in the country since June 2025.

Here's what to know about Musk's Starlink, and how it became accessible in Iran.

SpaceX's Starlink service available in Iran, reports say

Three people inside Iran confirmed to Reuters that some Iranians are still using the Starlink satellite internet service despite a nationwide communications blackout.

Multiple media outlets, including CNN and the New York Times, have also independently confirmed that access to Starlink services are not only available in Iran, but free.

Starlink is not licensed to operate in Iran, but Musk has previously said the service is active there, Reuters reported.

SpaceX has not posted about whether Starlink services are available in Iran on social media site X as of Wednesday, Jan. 14.

What's going on in Iran? Trump speaks to Elon Musk about restoring internet

If true, the availability of Starlink during a volatile conflict would be the latest sign of Musk and SpaceX's growing influence during times of global unrest.

Trump had said Sunday, Jan. 11, that he planned to speak with Musk, the world's richest man, about restoring internet in Iran.

Authorities in Iran have disrupted services for days as demonstrators protest soaring prices and the abrupt collapse of Iran’s national currency in the most expansive protests in the country since 2022, according to Reuters.

What is Starlink?

Starlink is SpaceX's lucrative satellite internet business.

SpaceX bills itself as the only satellite internet provider with its own reusable rocket – its two-stage, 230-foot Falcon 9 – capable of deploying the technology.

After services first became available about five years ago, more than 7 million people in 150 countries now use the internet service, SpaceX said as recently as October.

While most satellite internet services operate from single geostationary satellites orbiting Earth at about 22,236 miles, Starlink is a constellation of thousands of satellites that operate from a low-Earth orbit, about 341 miles up. Residing closer to Earth's atmosphere allows Starlink's satellites to have lower latency and data time between user and the satellite, improving performance of things like streaming, online gaming and video calls.

That means the satellites are equipped to make internet service accessible in rural areas and other regions that have been traditionally harder to reach.

How many Starlink satellites are in space?

Since the first launch in 2019 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, Starlink has grown into a constellation of more than 9,400 satellites in space.

Today, SpaceX's workhorse Falcon 9 rocket regularly deploys Starlink satellites into orbit from Florida – at both NASA's Kennedy Space Center and also the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station – as well as California. The first West Coast launch from the Vandenberg Space Force Base came in 2021, a Vandenberg  spokesperson previously told the USA TODAY Network.

Many observers and analysts believe SpaceX has a goal of deploying about 30,000 Starlink satellites into orbit within the next five years – though the company still requires regulatory approval from the Federal Communications Commission to do so.

Elon Musk provides Starlink services during unrest, natural disasters

Musk and SpaceX have routinely provided Starlink services in the past in regions marked by unrest or conflict, including in Ukraine amid the prolonged war with Russia.

In cases of natural disaster in the U.S., the service has often been made free.

For instance, Starlink was most recently offered to residents of Jamaica and the Bahamas in October 2025 when Hurricane Melissa barreled through the region.

Starlink was also recently offered to residents of Texas in July 2025 amid deadly flooding, and to customers across Florida and other impacted states in 2024 during Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.

Contributing: Joey Garrison, Kathryn Palmer, USA TODAY; Reuters

Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected]