Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Tuesday that Israel had smuggled tens of thousands of Starlink satellite internet receivers into Iran to help anti-government protesters communicate, but claimed the effort was abandoned by the current government.
Speaking at the JNS International Policy Summit in Jerusalem, Bennett said he had initiated a plan to acquire and covertly transport the devices into Iran to ensure uninterrupted internet access and enable protesters to coordinate during demonstrations.
According to Bennett, the initiative was intended to help protesters organise and ultimately challenge the Iranian government.
“Unfortunately, the current incompetent Israeli government stopped doing that,” Bennett said. “And when the protest happened, that infrastructure was not there.”
The satellite internet service, operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, is not licensed to operate in Iran. Tehran has previously accused Israel and the United States of smuggling Starlink terminals into the country to undermine its security, while Musk has previously stated that the service is active inside Iran.