Iran's Uprising Breaches the Digital Blackout: Starlink, Burning Mosques, and the Return of the Lion and Sun
Despite the regime's most severe internet shutdown in history, satellite connections carry images of protesters torching IRGC banks and hoisting pre-Islamic flags. The EU backs internet freedom as Iranians reject 47 years of theocratic rule.
Despite Iran's near-total internet shutdown entering its third week, satellite technology and sheer determination are punching holes through the digital blackout. Videos emerging via Starlink connections reveal a revolution defined not just by scale, but by its symbolic rejection of 47 years of theocratic rule.
Protesters have torched mosques, burned IRGC-affiliated banks, and hoisted the pre-Islamic Lion and Sun flag across cities from Tehran to Isfahan. The images that reach the outside world tell the story of a nation reclaiming its identity.
The Battle for Bandwidth
According to Al Jazeera, Elon Musk's SpaceX has activated Starlink satellite internet in Iran, with the service reportedly offered free to users. An estimated 40,000 to 50,000 Starlink terminals are believed to be operating in the country, smuggled in and traded on the black market.
The regime has responded with unprecedented countermeasures. Euronews reports that Iran is deploying mobile jamming units capable of blocking Starlink signals, using techniques that closely mirror Russian tactics in Ukraine. Iranian authorities have claimed they disabled 40,000 Starlink connections during the blackout.
Under Iranian law, owning a Starlink terminal can result in a prison sentence of six months to two years. Yet Iranians continue to use the service, knowing they are among the one percent still able to communicate with the outside world.
The human cost of the blackout extends beyond suppressed protests. One widely shared video shows a woman discovering her brother's death from a billboard photograph because the internet shutdown had prevented her family from reaching her.
Symbols of Defiance
The protests have taken on a deeply symbolic character. According to Britannica, demonstrators are carrying the historic Lion and Sun flag, which served as Iran's national emblem for centuries before the 1979 Islamic Revolution replaced it with the current design featuring stylised tulips and the word "Allah."
The flag has become a visual rejection of theocratic rule. For many protesters, Iran International reports, it communicates rejection of the regime and identification with an alternative vision of Iran. The choice is less about monarchism and more about distancing themselves from the Islamic Republic.
On 9 January, the Twemoji emoji library changed the Iran flag emoji from the Islamic Republic design to the Lion and Sun flag. As a result, according to the Jerusalem Post, the pre-revolutionary flag now appears on most web and iPhone clients when browsing X.
Videos verified by international media show protesters setting fire to mosques in Tehran's Gholhak and Sa'adat Abad neighbourhoods, as well as dozens of banks affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The mayor of Tehran confirmed that protesters have targeted economic infrastructure, including IRGC-linked financial institutions.
Organised Resistance
The uprising has evolved beyond spontaneous demonstrations. New footage shows protesters setting up coordinated ambushes against regime suppression forces on motorcycles. The crackdown is being met with organised resistance, according to activists documenting the protests.
Reports from opposition media indicate clashes between protesters and security forces in Kermanshah Province killed at least 10 IRGC members. The regime appears increasingly reliant on IRGC forces as local law enforcement faces capacity constraints.
The protests span all 31 Iranian provinces and more than 180 cities. Despite the internet shutdown, despite the killings, and despite mass arrests, Iranians continue to demonstrate.
Europe's Digital Response
EU High Representative Kaja Kallas has denounced Tehran for its response. According to Euronews, Kallas said that "shutting down the internet while violently suppressing protests exposes a regime afraid of its own people."
The European Parliament has called on Iranian authorities to immediately restore full internet access and release all those detained for peacefully exercising their rights. Parliament has also banned all Iranian diplomats from its premises, with President Roberta Metsola declaring the chamber will not legitimise the regime.
The EU and United States have pressed technology companies to facilitate Iranians' access to free internet. According to Iran International, officials urged firms to fund open-source VPN and censorship-bypass projects, expand encrypted communication features, and develop in-app proxies to keep users connected during outages.
Amnesty International has warned that the blanket internet shutdown not only hides human rights violations but amounts to a serious human rights violation in itself. Human Rights Watch reported that Iranian authorities have significantly intensified their lethal crackdown since 8 January.
A Revolution in Real Time
"I am self aware enough I am watching historic events unfold before my eyes. Generations of Iranians to come will be told stories about what I am witnessing in real time." - @MrEthicalPie
The regime's attempt at total information control has failed. Each video that emerges via Starlink, each image of the Lion and Sun flag raised over a burning building, represents a breach in the digital wall the Islamic Republic has tried to erect around its people.
According to NPR, digital rights experts assess the current shutdown to be the most sophisticated and severe in Iran's history. Yet voices continue to get through.
The death toll has reached staggering levels, with estimates ranging from 3,400 to over 16,500 killed since the protests began. The regime's violence has not broken the movement. If anything, the symbolic attacks on mosques and regime banks suggest a population that has moved beyond demanding reform to rejecting the Islamic Republic's foundations entirely.
For a European Union built on principles of human rights and digital freedom, the Iranian uprising presents both a test and an opportunity. The EU has the tools to support internet freedom through technology, diplomacy, and sanctions. The question is whether Europe will use them quickly enough to matter.
The Lion and Sun flies again over Iran's cities. The world is watching through Starlink. And the revolution, despite everything the regime has thrown at it, continues.
January 23, 2026