Iranian authorities have pledged to continue a crackdown on Starlink satellite internet and to impose further restrictions on the global internet, Al Jazeera reported.
Mohammad Amin Aghamiri, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Cyberspace Council, described Starlink as a "tool of war" for the country's enemies, according to Al Jazeera.
Mr Aghamiri said: "We have several systems for cutting off Starlink satellite terminals." He did not say what measures or devices were being used, Al Jazeera reported.
According to the broadcaster, he said one such system was used during the January protests, and that Iran was prepared to share the technology with aligned countries. The claims come only from Iranian officials and have not been independently verified.
Starlink is outlawed in Iran on national security grounds. Al Jazeera reported that its use, and the distribution of its terminals, are subject to fines and imprisonment. The news website news.az, citing Al Jazeera, said penalties can be harsher in national security or espionage cases.
Al Jazeera also quoted an anonymous Tehran-based telecoms expert, who listed methods said to be in use. They include multiple jammers, spoofed GPS locations that slow the setup of new devices, and the identification of Starlink-linked internet protocols when users connect to local services.
The same expert said authorities also use patrols and drone searches, and raid sellers of terminals. Al Jazeera did not name the expert, and the account has not been confirmed by Iranian officials.
Earlier figures on arrests came from Iranian sources. Bloomberg reported on 31 March that Iran had seized 139 Starlink devices and arrested 46 people involved in selling the terminals.
Bloomberg attributed the figures to the semi-official Iranian Students' News Agency, which cited police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan. Bloomberg also said activists and digital rights groups estimate there are about 50,000 terminals in Iran.
Starlink is run by Elon Musk's SpaceX. No response from the company to the latest pledge had been reported.
Mr Aghamiri had spoken about the issue before. The Times of Israel and the technology site Cybernews reported that he told state media Iran had disabled Starlink terminals during the January protests.
Cybernews attributed this to a report by IranWire on what he told the state agency. The Times of Israel described it as the first time an Iranian official had spoken about such capabilities.
The Times of Israel noted that experts said Iran was jamming signals, but they did not confirm the officials' specific claims.
Starlink is a satellite internet service. It beams a signal directly from satellites in low-earth orbit, so it bypasses Iran's internet filtering and its cable and cell-tower networks, according to Reuters.
Protests over economic conditions peaked in Iran in early January. By 8 January the authorities had imposed a near-total internet shutdown.
Reuters reported on 12 January that some Iranians were still using Starlink despite the ban, citing three people inside the country.
Amnesty International's Iran researcher, Raha Bahreini, told Reuters the organisation had verified dozens of videos from Iran. She said almost all came from people with Starlink access.
Reuters reported on 17 January that SpaceX had made Starlink free for Iranians that week. It said Iran was using jammers and spoofed GPS against the service, citing activists, analysts and researchers.
Al Jazeera said the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on 28 February. Bloomberg described the war as more than a month old by 31 March.
Iranians have faced two long government-imposed shutdowns of international internet access in 2026, Al Jazeera reported. One lasted three weeks during the January protests. The other lasted 88 days and began at the start of the war.
Most Iranians have no Starlink access because of the risk of a crackdown, limited supply and cost, according to Al Jazeera. They rely on a domestic network that blocks most international services.
Earlier restrictions also remain in place. Al Jazeera reported that WhatsApp and Instagram were blocked after the 2022-23 protests.
The Supreme National Cyberspace Council is Iran's top internet policy body. Mr Aghamiri is its secretary.
Officials pledged to continue the crackdown and to impose further restrictions on the global internet. No specific measures or dates were given.
