Iran Declares Elon Musk's Starlink a Legitimate Target for Attack

Iranian state media has reported that the satellite internet infrastructure owned by US billionaire Elon Musk, Starlink, across the region is now “one of Iran’s legitimate targets”. Iran has highlighted Starlink’s presence in several countries. Cited from Al Jazeera on Wednesday (1/4/2026), the Fars news agency published an infographic stating that Starlink is present in countries such as Bahrain, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates. The use of Starlink in Iran can be punished with up to two years in prison. However, some Iranian citizens still use the service to communicate amid internet blackouts imposed by the government. Previously, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard threatened to attack several leading US technology companies. The attacks would be carried out to retaliate for the deaths of several Iranian leaders killed in a joint US-Israel attack. Cited from AFP and The Times of Israel on Tuesday (31/3), there are 18 US technology companies on the list to be attacked by Iran. Among those companies are Microsoft, Google, Apple, Intel, IBM, Tesla, and Boeing. “These companies, starting at 20:00 Tehran time on Wednesday, 1 April, must expect the destruction of their related units as compensation for every killing in Iran,” the Revolutionary Guard said in a statement. “We advise the employees of these institutions to immediately leave their workplaces for the sake of their lives,” it added. This threat emerges as US President Donald Trump stated that he is conducting diplomacy aimed at ending the conflict. Trump also threatened to strengthen the US-Israel campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran.