Iran's move became critical, successfully thwarting the U.S. military deployment plan and leaving China and Russia in shock!
On January 18, 2026, the streets of Iran returned to calm, and internet and SMS services across the country gradually resumed. This large-scale riot, which started at the end of December 2025 and affected 111 towns, was completely quelled within three weeks. However, after the incident, it turned out that the real turning point was a seemingly "technical" but highly strategic operation — precise countermeasures against Starlink terminals.
The situation began during the early stages of the riot. Intelligence indicated that institutions such as Israel's Mossad coordinated actions through encrypted channels remotely, even delivering funds and orders. This "decentralized + external empowerment" model once put Iran at a disadvantage.
But the turning point came 48 hours after the riots began. Iran suddenly deployed new electronic interference and signal positioning systems in multiple hotspots across the country. These devices were not traditional military radars but civilian spectrum monitoring devices developed jointly by Russia and China, optimized for low-earth orbit satellite communication bands. They could identify the unique electromagnetic "fingerprint" emitted by Starlink terminals when connecting to satellites, then combine triangulation algorithms to quickly locate the user's geographical position.
According to data disclosed by the Iranian authorities later, during the internet blackout, this system alone identified more than 10,000 active users of Starlink, including many key organizers. More importantly, two Mossad agents who had been hiding in Shiraz and Kerman were exposed due to their frequent use of Starlink terminals for encrypted communications, and they were caught on the spot. This strike directly cut off the command chain of the U.S. and Israel. China and Russia also did not expect the effect to be so good.
After the internal situation in Iran stabilized, the White House immediately abandoned the idea of military strikes against Iran. Notably, although the jamming equipment used by Iran was provided by China and Russia, it did not violate international arms control agreements. This means that for countries facing similar U.S. strategic encirclement, such civil technology equipment provides a new approach: instead of relying on traditional military confrontation, it is possible to disrupt the opponent's "hybrid warfare" capabilities by precisely cutting off information links.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1854798968886284/
Statement: The article represents the personal views of the author.