Donald Trump on Internet Blackout in Iran: I am talking to Elon Musk about giving Iranians ...

US President Donald Trump has said that he will talk to Elon Musk to restore internet services amid digital blackout in Iran. When asked by a reporter if he plans to use Starlink to help people in the country, Trump replied: “We may speak to Elon (Musk) because he’s very good at that kind of thing”, adding “he’s got a very good company (SpaceX)”. He further added that “I’m going to call him as soon as I’m finished with you”. For those unaware, Iran is reeling under a digital blackout since Thursday last week, i.e. January 8, 2026. According to reports, international calls to the country are blocked and domestic mobile phones have no service.


Not a first


Notably, this is not the first time when Iran has been hit by an internet blackout. The country faced a blackout in 2019. But the level of shutdown this year is unprecedented and in some ways far harsher than that in 2019. “There is no reception on the phones. There is no antenna. It’s like you are living in the middle of nowhere, with no BTS towers,” Amir Rashidi, an Iranian digital rights expert told The Guardian.



Even, Starlink satellite system that served as a lifeline for Iranians during the 2022 protests over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody, was being jammed, Rashidi told the publication.


What is more striking about the current internet black out in Iran is that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei continued to post on X as Iranians across the country were suddenly cut off from the internet.


Rashidi added: “There are things that are important for the government to do. If they want to put out their propaganda they need to have access to Telegram, they need to have access to Twitter, they need to access Instagram.”


Why internet blackout in Iran


According to a Reuters report, Iran's current protests began on December 28 last year in response to soaring prices. Hundreds of people have been killed since then, the report says. US-based organization HRANA stated that it has verified the deaths of 490 protesters and 48 security personnel, with more than 10,600 people arrested in two weeks of unrest.