On Monday, a senior Iranian official said Starlink could become a legitimate military target if it is used as a tool of war. A day earlier, Ukraine’s president said Kyiv is building its own Starlink-like system. Russia has been developing a rival for months. Taken together, they show how satellite internet has turned from a consumer service into a strategic weapon.
What Iran actually said
Mohammad-Amin Aghamiri, secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council of Cyberspace, told the IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency on October 5 that satellite internet used as a tool of war could be considered a legitimate military target in the future. He did not say whether he meant the terminals used by Iranians or the network’s wider infrastructure.
He also claimed that Iran became the first country to deliberately shut down Starlink terminals, during the nationwide blackout of January’s protests. The claim is unverified. A European cybersecurity assessment has said Iranian authorities likely used military-grade jamming that reduced traffic by as much as 80%, but no independent body has confirmed how it was done. This is a threat and a boast, not an attack, and Starlink has not been disabled now.
Why Starlink matters inside Iran
Starlink is banned in Iran, and owning a terminal can carry a prison sentence of six months to two years. Even so, Reuters reported in January that the service was still working in places, with an estimated 50,000 terminals active. During the blackout it was one of the few ways to get online. Iran has also lodged a protest with Norway, which acts as the “notifying administration” for Starlink at the International Telecommunication Union.
Ukraine’s answer: build your own
Ukraine is the other side of the same problem. President Volodymyr Zelensky said on October 4 that Ukraine is working on something similar to Starlink and argued that it would be fair to let Kyiv use Starlink for strikes inside Russia. Starlink’s coverage is geofenced and not available over Russian territory.
His comments reveal the dependence. Ukrainian troops and drones rely on a network Kyiv neither owns nor controls. In 2022, SpaceX refused a Ukrainian request to extend Starlink over occupied Crimea for a drone strike on Russian warships, and it has since restricted the network’s use for drone operations. Zelensky also warned that China and other countries could share comparable satellite technology with Moscow within months.
Russia’s rival
Russia is building its own constellation, called Rassvet. A draft project cited by Russian media put its cost at about $5 billion, and Roscosmos chief Dmitry Bakanov has said test satellites are already in orbit. Zelensky has asked the US to sanction Russian and Chinese companies involved in the network, and the US has until October 18 to choose its Russia sanctions targets.
The bigger shift
These stories look separate, but they share one idea: a communications network built for customers now carries military traffic. Three consequences follow.
First, control sits with a company. A decision about where Starlink works is also a foreign-policy decision, and Ukraine has already seen how it can go. That explains why states now want constellations they own.
Second, civilian infrastructure becomes a target. Under the laws of armed conflict, an object used for military purposes can lose its civilian protection. Iran’s warning is an attempt to put that logic on the table before anything happens, and it will be tested if Starlink keeps serving armies.
Third, the cheap side wins this contest more often than expected. Ground-based jammers cost a fraction of what a satellite constellation does, which is why even countries without space programs can disrupt service on the ground.
The next signals to watch are whether Iran names specific facilities, how the US handles Russia sanctions on October 18, and whether Ukraine’s own system moves from announcement to launch.