Iran Arrests Dozens in Starlink Crackdown, Sets April 1 Deadline to Target Tesla and US Tech

Image: Starlink

Iranian authorities have arrested 46 people and seized 139 Starlink terminals as part of an intensifying effort to control information during the country’s ongoing conflict with the U.S. and Israel.

Simultaneously, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has issued a direct warning that it will begin targeting 18 major U.S. technology companies—including Tesla and Nvidia—starting April 1 at 8:00 PM Tehran time if the U.S. continues “targeted assassinations” of Iranian leaders.

According to a report from Bloomberg, the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency cited police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan on Monday regarding the Starlink arrests. Despite the crackdown, digital rights groups estimate there are still roughly 50,000 terminals operating within the country. Using these tools remains incredibly dangerous, as rights activists warn that circumventing the national blackout can lead to capital punishment.

The threat against U.S. infrastructure marks a massive escalation in cyber and physical tensions. The IRGC’s focus on specific firms suggests a strategy aimed at the core of American technological and financial power, specifically targeting their regional offices and data centres in the Middle East.

The full list of 18 companies the IRGC is threatening to target includes Cisco, HP, Intel, Oracle, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Meta, IBM, Dell, Palantir, Nvidia, J.P. Morgan, Tesla, General Electric, Spire Solutions, G42, and Boeing.

This escalation comes as leaked documents from a hacking group known as Void Verge suggest the Iranian government is already struggling to maintain its own national intranet due to power outages and infrastructure damage. As the April 1 deadline approaches, the regime continues to prioritize the hunt for satellite hardware to prevent images of internal crackdowns from reaching the global stage, while pivoting toward external threats against some of the world’s largest corporations.

With Iran’s internet on total lockdown, Starlink terminals are small enough to fit and hide in a backpack, especially the Mini dish. Starlink Internet is the only way citizens can communicate with the rest of the world freely.