From the January 12 edition of the Morning Jolt, entitled, “How to Help the Iranian People”:

Up until last year, the U.S. State Department provided financial support to organizations that provide free virtual private network (VPN) technology to Iranians, allowing circumvention of the Tehran regime’s censorship efforts. At least one organization, NetFreedomPioneers, is continuing the effort, as well as sending Starlink portable kits, and is asking for private donations. (Starlink kits are banned in Iran, punishable by six months to two years in prison, so the devices need to be smuggled in.)

Up until last year, the U.S. State Department provided financial support to organizations that provide free virtual private network (VPN) technology to Iranians, allowing circumvention of the Tehran regime’s censorship efforts. At least one organization, NetFreedomPioneers, is continuing the effort, as well as sending Starlink portable kits, and is asking for private donations. (Starlink kits are banned in Iran, punishable by six months to two years in prison, so the devices need to be smuggled in.)

The good news is, according to the Wall Street Journal, the Trump administration made precisely that move.

The Trump administration covertly sent thousands of Starlink terminals into Iran after the regime’s brutal crackdown on demonstrations last month, U.S. officials said, an effort to keep dissidents online following Tehran’s stifling of internet access. After Iranian authorities smothered mounting unrest in January by killing thousands of protesters and severely cutting internet connectivity, the U.S. smuggled roughly 6,000 of the satellite-internet kits into the country, the first time the U.S. has directly sent Starlink into Iran. The State Department had purchased nearly 7,000 Starlink terminals in earlier months—with most bought in January—to help antiregime activists circumvent internet shut-offs in Iran, officials said. The purchase came after senior Trump administration appointees decided to divert some funds from other internet-freedom initiatives inside Iran to the purchasing of Starlink terminals instead. President Trump was aware of the deliveries, officials said, but they didn’t know if he or someone else directly approved of the plan.

The Trump administration covertly sent thousands of Starlink terminals into Iran after the regime’s brutal crackdown on demonstrations last month, U.S. officials said, an effort to keep dissidents online following Tehran’s stifling of internet access.

After Iranian authorities smothered mounting unrest in January by killing thousands of protesters and severely cutting internet connectivity, the U.S. smuggled roughly 6,000 of the satellite-internet kits into the country, the first time the U.S. has directly sent Starlink into Iran.

The State Department had purchased nearly 7,000 Starlink terminals in earlier months—with most bought in January—to help antiregime activists circumvent internet shut-offs in Iran, officials said. The purchase came after senior Trump administration appointees decided to divert some funds from other internet-freedom initiatives inside Iran to the purchasing of Starlink terminals instead.

President Trump was aware of the deliveries, officials said, but they didn’t know if he or someone else directly approved of the plan.

The bad news is that the Iranian protesters were expecting something a little more kinetic:

As protests swept Iran, Trump encouraged Iranians to continue demonstrating against the regime, promising them “help is on its way.” Analysts said more Iranians took to the streets expecting Washington’s support in the form of airstrikes on government and military targets. No such attack came, though the administration has since massed military forces in the region that could be used to strike Iran if talks over its nuclear program fail.

As protests swept Iran, Trump encouraged Iranians to continue demonstrating against the regime, promising them “help is on its way.” Analysts said more Iranians took to the streets expecting Washington’s support in the form of airstrikes on government and military targets. No such attack came, though the administration has since massed military forces in the region that could be used to strike Iran if talks over its nuclear program fail.

Given a choice between no U.S. assistance and a delivery of several thousand Starlink terminals, I greatly prefer the delivery of several thousand Starlink terminals. But the U.S. has a lot of of other options to hinder the regime’s crackdown, even beyond airstrikes. The Iranian regime forces involved in the crackdown have their own communications systems; when the U.S. Cyber Command wants to shut something down, it tends to get shut down. For example:

In Venezuela, American officials said, U.S. Cyber Command was able to shut down the transmission towers that allowed the Venezuelan military’s hand-held radios to work, took some radar off-line and turned off the power. Those operations made it far more difficult for the Venezuelan military to identify or engage the American forces who entered the country to seize the president, Nicolás Maduro.

In Venezuela, American officials said, U.S. Cyber Command was able to shut down the transmission towers that allowed the Venezuelan military’s hand-held radios to work, took some radar off-line and turned off the power. Those operations made it far more difficult for the Venezuelan military to identify or engage the American forces who entered the country to seize the president, Nicolás Maduro.

The U.S. has remarkable capabilities to shut down critical systems within the governments of hostile states. It’s just a question of what the U.S. government is willing to do.

© National Review