Anonymous3 days ago
A sprawling underground network has smuggled an estimated 50,000 Starlink satellite internet terminals into Iran since 2022, providing a lifeline during government-imposed internet blackouts but exposing users to penalties up to and including execution under a sweeping new anti-espionage law. The operation — spanning routes through Iraq's Kurdish region, Dubai's ports, and Iran's southern coastline — has triggered a high-stakes technological arms race between SpaceX's satellite constellation and Iranian military-grade jamming equipment, while raising unresolved questions about digital sovereignty, U.S. sanctions law, and whether satellite workarounds can meaningfully shift political dynamics inside authoritarian states.