Israel's Bennett Acknowledges Smuggling Tens of Thousands of Starlink Devices Into Iran on June 23

According to Bennett, Israel's opposition leader and former prime minister, on June 23, he publicly acknowledged that his government secretly smuggled tens of thousands of SpaceX Starlink satellite receivers into Iran between 2021 and 2022 to support anti-government protesters attempting to overthrow the Iranian regime. This marks the first time an Israeli official has publicly confirmed such an operation, following Iran's repeated accusations against Israel and the United States of covertly importing satellite equipment to undermine national security.

The disclosure also revealed broader Israeli intelligence operations: Mossad has long conducted cyber intrusions into Iran's surveillance and traffic camera systems, combined with AI technology and satellite imagery; in April 2026, Mossad planted explosives in thousands of devices, causing casualties among mid-level commanders in the Hezbollah pager incident; the same month, mass communications equipment failures disrupted Iranian operations, triggering international network isolation measures.