January marked the first time the US directly sent Starlink terminals to Iran [Getty]
The Trump administration smuggled thousands of Starlink terminals into Iran in January amid an internet shutdown, as tensions persist over the possibility of direct US military action on the country.
According to US officials who spoke to The Wall Street Journal, the US covertly shipped approximately 6,000 of the satellite-internet kits into Iran at the height of the regime’s brutal crackdown on anti-government protests.
The Internet was shut down in Iran on January 8, amid reports that thousands of protesters had been killed by government security forces.
The shipment marks the first time the US has directly sent Starlink infrastructure to the country with the scope of assisting activists and civilians in circumventing the widescale internet outage imposed by the government, which left the country largely offline for more than 20 days.
Starlink is owned by the right-wing billionaire Elon Musk. The state department had previously bought nearly 7,000 Starlink terminals in the preceding months, according to the WSJ.
Meanwhile, US military deployment to the Middle East continues with the Pentagon saying it will send the navy’s largest and most advanced aircraft carrier to the region.
The USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group will be deployed to waters near Iran after spending multiple months in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean. It was involved in the operation to kidnap Venezuela’s President Nicholas Maduro on 3 January.
The carrier will join the USS Abraham Lincoln and at least nine other warships already deployed in the region amid escalating rhetoric between Washington and Tehran.
New Iranian ‘hitlist’
On Friday night, Iranian state television aired a ‘hitlist’ of seven top Israeli officials saying that “by assassinating these criminals, Iran will bring security and peace around the world”.
A photo of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu featured alongside headshots of Mossad director David Barnea and Defence Minister Israel Katz titled “legitimate targets” were broadcast on Ofogh TV, a channel operated by the Iranian state broadcaster IRIB.
The presenter also issued a threat in Hebrew saying “we will determine the time of your death, wait for the Ababil” in reference to an Iranian-made drone by that name.
Previously, Iran’s Channel 12 had published a similar message of what it said was an assassination list of Iranian officials including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Iran has accused Israel of attempting to sabotage the ongoing nuclear negotiations with the US following a visit by Netanyahu to Washington on Wednesday, who appeared to be pressing Trump to include the issue of Iran’s ballistic missile programme in the deal.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Trump denied that Netanyahu had asked him to stop negotiations with Tehran, saying an agreement could be finalised within the next month, “otherwise it’s going to be very traumatic for Iran”.
Although no date has been set for the second round of the nuclear talks between the two countries, Iranian officials have said subsequent talks with the US were being planned.
Meanwhile, judicial authorities in Iran have released two reformist leaders after they were arrested earlier in the week, their lawyer told Iranian Students’ News Agency.
Javad Emam and Ebrahim Asgharzadeh were released after posting legal bail, with their representative saying he hoped Azar Mansouri, the head of the Iranian Reform Front who was arrested alongside the two officials, would likewise be released within the next two days.