Iran arrests two foreigners over Starlink device imports

AFP
By AFP April 19, 2026 04:33 (EAT)
Iran arrests two foreigners over Starlink device imports

SpaceX Starlink internet terminal installed in Odesa, southern Ukraine, March 15, 2022. | PHOTO: CNN

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Iranian authorities have arrested two foreign nationals in the country's northwest on charges related to the importation of Starlink devices, a local prosecutor said Sunday, according to Iranian media.

The suspects, arrested in the city of Jolfa in East Azerbaijan province, were involved in "importing satellite internet equipment" and were arrested by security forces, Iran's Tasnim news agency quoted the city's public prosecutor as saying.

It said the two were part of "a network accused of intelligence cooperation with groups linked to the United States and Israel".

Two Iranian nationals were also arrested in connection with the case, including one who "attempted to send information to hostile satellite networks" and another allegedly involved in intelligence activities, it added.

Iran has been largely cut off from the global internet since the start of the war with Israel and the United States on February 28.

Satellite internet services such as Starlink are officially banned in the country.

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