Elon Musk's Starlink a 'legitimate' target for Iran, state media says

US billionaire Elon Musk’s satellite internet company Starlink is considered a "legitimate" target by Tehran, Iranian state media reported, after the Islamic Republic said it would target American companies in the region.

The Fars news agency published an infographic showing Starlink’s presence in the region, including in Bahrain, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates – three Gulf states which have come under heavy attack by Iran since the start of the war on 28 February.

While Tehran says it is targeting US and Israeli interests in "retaliation", Gulf states say their civilian infrastructure, including ports, airports, and oil and gas refineries, have been hit.

Last month, Iranian intelligence authorities announced that they had located and confiscated hundreds of banned Starlink devices in a "complex and extensive" operation.

The ministry said the operation relied on "intensive use" of advanced technological tools, which allowed authorities to track satellite-linked internet systems and monitor what it described as "criminal activity" by users.

Since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, which has seen the internet largely cut off in Iran, security and intelligence agencies have intensified efforts to locate, seize, and arrest users of banned Starlink devices.

Iranian intelligence said these measures will continue without pause until all Starlink satellite internet devices, which it claims are "used to serve the enemy", are seized.

The ministry stressed that "owning or using illegal Starlink systems is a crime under Iranian law".

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Tuesday that they will target US companies in the region as of 1 April, state media reported.

The list of companies in the IRGC's threat included Microsoft, Google, Apple, Intel, IBM, Tesla and Boeing.

"These companies should expect the destruction of their respective units in exchange for each terror act in Iran, starting from 8 PM Tehran time on Wednesday, April 1st," the IRGC statement said.

More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the start of the war. Across the Gulf and Iraq, dozens have been killed and injured, and in Lebanon, a renewed Israeli offensive has killed more than 1,260 people.