The Islamic Republic's foreign ministry on the morning of Sunday 4 October 2026 summoned Paul Bir Nestad, Norway's ambassador in Tehran, and protested to him over the activity of Starlink satellite internet in Iran. Tehran's formal protest note was also handed to the ambassador.
According to domestic media, including Asr-e Iran, Mohammad Hassannejad Pirkouhi, the foreign ministry's director-general for international peace and security, met the Norwegian ambassador. He said Norway, the country that registered the Starlink network with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), had failed to meet its obligations. According to him, under decisions of the union's Radio Regulations Board, Norway was required to stop unauthorised Starlink transmissions on Iranian territory, but despite Tehran's repeated follow-ups, "no effective action has been taken by Norway". The foreign ministry official also accused the United States and Israel of using Starlink for "interventionist actions" against Iran and called for immediate action by Oslo.
Background to the Starlink case at the International Telecommunication Union
In October 2023, following a complaint by the Islamic Republic, the International Telecommunication Union's Radio Regulations Board asked the United States and Norway, the administrations that registered Starlink with the union, to disable Starlink terminals on Iranian territory. According to the publication Space Intel Report, the board was not satisfied with the two countries' responses. Tehran's new protest shows that three years after that decision, Starlink transmissions in Iran are still continuing.
For many Iranians, Starlink has been one of the few ways to access the free internet during periods of widespread internet shutdowns. According to Iran International, the Islamic Republic stepped up its crackdown on Starlink users after the Dey uprising, and especially after SpaceX made the service free during the internet shutdown.
Arrests of Starlink users
The summoning of Norway's ambassador comes as the Islamic Republic's security forces have intensified their crackdown on owners of Starlink devices. According to Iran International, Hossein Rahimi, head of the economic security police, had announced that in the first four months of the Iranian year 1405 (which began in March 2026), 997 Starlink devices were seized and 163 people arrested.
Iran International also reported that on Monday 21 September, intelligence forces arrested a young man at his workplace in the port of Abadan on a charge of keeping a Starlink device and took him to an unknown location; his family has had no news of his condition since then.
By putting diplomatic pressure on Norway, the Islamic Republic is trying to close one of Iranians' last routes to the free internet.
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