As devastating US and Israeli airstrikes cripple Iranian infrastructure, a lucrative black market for Starlink satellite internet access is surging on local Telegram channels.
As unprecedented US and Israeli airstrikes decimate Iranian infrastructure and the country transitions leadership to Mojtaba Khamenei, a black market for satellite internet is thriving on Telegram. Iranian news and war-tracking channels are heavily circulating advertisements for exorbitant Starlink access, targeting citizens desperate to bypass domestic network failures and censorship during the military crisis.
According to the Telegram channel اخبارفوری جنگ قیمتلحظهای دلار طلا (Breaking News War Real-time Price Dollar Gold)—a channel whose editorial focus typically tracks conflict updates and currency collapse—vendors are promising connections with "space speed." The advertisements claim to have two "connected and stable" services currently available and are being aggressively cross-posted across various breaking news networks monitoring US attacks.
The vendors list three distinct tiers of Starlink access, payable via direct card transfer or cryptocurrency. The entry-level "Silver Plan" is explicitly recommended for 90 percent of daily activities, specifically citing the need to access blocked platforms like Instagram, Telegram, and WhatsApp. Prices for this tier begin at $12 (1,860,000 Tomans) for a mere 3 gigabytes of data shared between two users, scaling up to $52 (8,060,000 Tomans) for 20 gigabytes for three users.
For consumers requiring lower ping and higher performance, such as traders or gamers, a "Turquoise Plan"—marketed somewhat contradictorily as "urban fiber optic Starlink"—starts at $63 (9,765,000 Tomans) for 30 gigabytes. The highest offering, the "Legendary Plan," provides 100 gigabytes for six users at $150 (23,250,000 Tomans). The staggering Toman pricing reflects a severely devalued local currency—implied at roughly 155,000 Tomans to the US dollar—amid the widespread destruction of Iran's energy and military sectors. Furthermore, physical hardware is in critical shortage, with the broadcast noting that "only 1 Starlink panel" remains available for outright purchase at $300.
The source messages are identical advertisement broadcasts cross-posted across multiple channels that typically cover breaking war news, US attacks, and currency fluctuations. The extremely high Toman-to-Dollar exchange rate embedded in the ad prices directly reflects the severe economic impact of the broader conflict detailed in the background context.