---
title: "There’s a Huge Problem With Elon Musk’s Promise to Bring Starlink to Iran"
description: "Getting Starlink up and running in Iran isn't as simple as switching on some orbital satellites, and it very well looks like Musk's promise might fall flat."
date: "2022-09-27"
modified: "2022-09-27"
authors:
  - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré"
    job_title: "Senior Staff Writer"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison"
url: "https://futurism.com/elon-musk-starlink-iran"
categories:
  - "Elon Musk"
  - "Future Society"
  - "Space"
  - "SpaceX"
  - "The Industrialists"
tags:
  - "elon musk"
  - "iran"
  - "SpaceX"
  - "starlink"
---

# There’s a Huge Problem With Elon Musk’s Promise to Bring Starlink to Iran

![Getting Starlink up and running in Iran isn't as simple as switching on some orbital satellites, and it very well looks like Musk's promise might fall flat.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/elon-musk-starlink-iran.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://unsplash.com/@dahaghin_ma" target="\_blank"\>Mohammad Ali Dahaghin via Unsplash / Fututrism\</a\>\</em\>*

Once again, [in response to international conflict](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/problem-elon-musk-starlink-ukraine>), Elon Musk has pledged to activate Starlink — SpaceX's satellite internet system — in the [embattled region](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/ukraine-starlink-saving-lives>).

This time, he's promised that Starlink will be available to the people of Iran, who for days now have been protesting the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. In an effort to quell the ongoing unrest, the Iranian government has restricted civilian internet access, even when [using a VPN or a proxy](<https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-62996100>). And sure, Musk's internet service could, in theory, be a way to circumvent those limitations.

"Activating Starlink," the billionaire [tweeted](<https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1573379244268437504>) in response to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who had [taken to Twitter himself](<https://twitter.com/SecBlinken/status/1573327474951438337>) to comment on the [US decision](<https://www.state.gov/briefing-with-senior-administration-officials-on-the-administrations-efforts-to-advance-the-free-flow-of-information-for-the-iranian-people/#:~:text=The%20updated%20general%20license%20dramatically,private%2C%20outside%20platform%20and%20services.>) to tweak sanctions to support internet freedom in Iran.

At face value, providing outsourced internet services to the people of Iran — whose means of digital communication are currently fraught and scarce — is good and necessary. But getting Starlink up and running isn't as simple as switching on some orbital satellites, and it looks like Musk's promise might fall flat this time.

According to Karim Sadjadpour, a senior fellow at global think tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace who [claims to have spoken with Musk](<https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-starlink-active-iran-government-internet-outages-report-2022-9>) about his Starlink pledge, the satellites themselves have been "activated" for Iranian use. But beyond the actual satellites, potential Starlink users need [physical terminals](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/starlink-terminals-arrive-ukraine>) and paid subscriptions in order to actually use the service — both of which are already proving difficult to access.

While SpaceX could consider removing the need to pay for a subscription to the satellite service, [*Al Jazeera* reports that](<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/26/why-elon-musks-starlink-wont-impact-protests-in-iran>) the Iranian government has already made it impossible for Iranians to log into Starlink's website, hence blocking anyone from purchasing an account. And terminals, as *Al Jazeera* points out, would likely need to be smuggled into the country.

SpaceX [did manage to deliver](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/starlink-terminals-arrive-ukraine>) numerous Starlink terminals to Ukraine during the early days of the Russian invasion this year. But it doesn't sound like it's taking the initiative this time, according to Sadjadpour's account.

"\[Starlink\] requires the use of terminals in-country, which I suspect the \[Iranian\] government will not support," Musk allegedly told Sadjadpour, "but if anyone can get terminals into Iran, they will work."

And importantly, the Iranian state — which has already denounced the US' sanction expansion — could further inhibit Starlink by using UN corridors to pursue legal grievances against Musk and his company.

While Musk's internet may theoretically provide an outlet to those who could somehow get their hands on a terminal and a subscription, those are some serious roadblocks, especially in the country's [still-weak economy](<https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/iran/overview>).

It isn't a bad thing that access is technically "activated," but don't let that confuse you. The protests are ongoing, many have reportedly died, and internet — even satellite internet — is still [mostly impossible to access](<https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-62996100>). At this point, it's unlikely that Starlink will provide any relief.

**READ MORE:** *[Why Elon Musk’s Starlink will not affect protests in Iran](<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/26/why-elon-musks-starlink-wont-impact-protests-in-iran>)* \[*Al Jazeera*\]

**More on Iran:** *[Anonymous Hacks Iran After Woman Was Allegedly Killed by Morality Police](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/anonymous-hacks-iranian-government>)*

## Author
At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride."

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/mharrisondupre.bsky.social>)