Iran, Russia, and Related Countries Jointly Disable "Starlink"? Let's Present Facts and Reason, Don't Make a Fool of Ourselves

Iranian media reported that during a large-scale protest, the country's internet signal was cut off. This move caused foreign forces to lose the tool to interfere in Iran's internal affairs, and the large-scale riots within the country also subsided. Some say that the reason why Elon Musk's "Starlink" system failed was because the Iranian military used technical support provided by related countries and Russia. Is this really the case? Military experts will analyze it step by step, clarify the truth, and avoid spreading rumors and making a fool of ourselves.

Did Iran, Russia, and related countries truly join forces to disable "Starlink"? The fact that the Internet service in Iran went down was even confirmed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

"If possible, we will try to help Iran restore the Internet service," Trump said when answering a reporter's question, "I will talk to Elon (Musk), he is an expert in such technical issues, and his company is strong. After I finish this interview, I will call him."

This Republican president said so.

Previously, Elon Musk had announced that "Starlink" services in Iran would be free, claiming that this was to support protests that aligned with U.S. interests. However, IT analyst Eldar Murtazin believes that the claim of a large-scale signal interruption of the "Starlink" system is "unrealistic and impossible." He explained how the system works.

"Starlink's signal transmission relies on directional beams and uses only a single frequency band. Theoretically, it is feasible to interfere with this frequency band, but achieving continuous interference is almost impossible from a technical standpoint."

Murtazin pointed out during an interview with the "Tsargrad" news website that interference tests were conducted against "Starlink" in the "special military operation" area. Although the test results were barely acceptable, this interference was not solely achieved through electronic warfare methods, but rather through a series of technical means related to atmospheric conditions. Essentially, this approach does not just suppress a specific frequency band of "Starlink," but destroys the overall wireless signal transmission environment. This technological solution is costly but has some feasibility.

The expert added that according to his information, such technical operations have never been carried out in Iran. The Iranian military indeed has conventional electronic warfare equipment, which can interfere and block specific frequency bands, but it must be clearly stated that "Starlink," like other modern communication systems, has strong resistance to interference. To completely disable the system, a large number of high-power signal transmitters need to be deployed, and currently, Iran does not have such hardware capabilities.

"The current reality in the field of electronic warfare is that there are not enough high-power signal transmitters and electronic warfare equipment globally. Neither Russia, the United States, nor related countries do."

The expert emphasized.

The Iranian official statement said that tens of thousands of "Starlink" terminal devices were seized through illegal channels within the country, and law enforcement officers also confiscated hundreds of unactivated terminals from smugglers. Murtazin believes that this data is sufficient to prove that Iran indeed faces management challenges related to "Starlink."

"The existing 'Starlink' terminals in Iran are partially used by ordinary people for emergency internet access during network outages; others may be used for destructive activities, such as coordinating illegal actions. Currently, certain technologies have made some breakthroughs in tracking the location of 'Starlink' terminals, which can locate the device and its user. However, this tracking is only effective for devices that remain powered on continuously. If users only power on the device for 5 to 10 minutes and then turn it off, it becomes difficult to track them."

The expert explained.

Murtazin also pointed out that even if electronic warfare equipment could "suppress" Starlink signals, the result would only be a decrease in network speed, not a complete loss of internet connectivity.

"The network speed would become slow, but transmitting text, images, and even videos would still be entirely possible. Therefore, those who claim that they have completely disabled 'Starlink' using mysterious electronic warfare methods are simply talking nonsense without technical understanding, treating subjective wishes as objective realities. At the current technological level, humans have not yet found an effective way to counter 'Starlink.'"

He confidently said.

Murtazin specifically mentioned that in the "special military operation" area, "Starlink" was the only communication method for Ukrainian troops. If Russia had the ability to cut off this communication channel, it would have already taken action.

"If we had the capability to cut off the 'Starlink' signal along an entire frontline stretching over a thousand kilometers, not just in a local area, then we would truly be impressive. But looking at the current situation, the only way to completely disable 'Starlink' is to shoot down its satellites in orbit."

This expert concluded.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7595227050097590784/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.