Transcript [00:00] Hey everyone, happy festival, happy [00:02] holiday. [00:04] It is uh the middle of Sukkot, but the [00:07] news cycle still goes on. Um interesting [00:10] reaction out of the Iranians to one part [00:13] of Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech at [00:15] the UN that we're going to get into in [00:16] this video. Let's pull up the clip and [00:19] get started. Here we go. Prime Minister [00:21] Netanyahu at the UN the other day. Short [00:23] clip. We are not afraid. [00:27] But I'll tell you who is afraid. The [00:30] tyrants of Tehran. That's who. And you [00:32] know what? They're most afraid of their [00:35] own people. The brave Iranian people who [00:39] have sacrificed so much for so long. The [00:42] Iranian regime [00:45] is especially afraid [00:47] when their people have this. [00:50] when their people have this. [00:53] This is a communications device, [00:56] Starlink, that allows people to access [01:00] truth, to exercise choice, to exercise [01:05] freedom of thought and freedom of [01:07] speech. That's why the Iranian regime [01:11] spells rather spends millions and [01:15] billions of dollars censoring the [01:17] internet. [01:19] Mr. President, [01:22] I'm going to leave this device with you [01:25] so you can give it to the Iranian [01:27] delegation so when they inevitably [01:29] defect, they too will be able to freely [01:32] tell their story on social media. [01:35] [cheering] [01:42] All right, there's the clip. And yeah, [01:44] we all get the gimmick. We see what it [01:46] is. [01:48] So the reaction out of the Iranian [01:50] regime is actually fascinating. I could [01:52] not believe it when I read this story [01:53] today. [01:55] Starlink Netanyahu's gift to Iran. [01:59] And this is a very strange piece. I'll [02:01] just I'll walk you through it and we'll [02:04] see how strange it is. First of all, [02:05] let's just point out that they they then [02:08] included in it, they embedded in this [02:10] clip in this article a clip of Israel's [02:15] ambassador to the UN, Donnie Danon, who [02:18] took the Starlink uh router or whatever [02:21] you call it, the terminal, and he tried [02:24] to deliver it to the Iranian [02:27] representative. And they talk about this [02:29] in this article, but let's first watch [02:31] that clip. [02:35] I thought it's appropriate to give you [02:37] the Starink. If you heard the prime [02:39] minister, it can be very useful for you [02:42] to allow the Iranian people to get their [02:44] freedom after what you did to them. So, [02:46] you want to take it and deliver it back [02:48] to Thran. [02:50] It can be very useful for you in Iran. [02:53] We love the Iranian people and we pray [02:56] for the regime change there. It will [02:58] come that day. [03:03] >> Okay. [03:04] All right, now let's read the news. So [03:06] again, the the headline on the piece is [03:09] Starlink Netanyahu's gift to Iran. [03:13] And this was this was published on [03:14] Friday. [03:16] Yesterday during his speech at the [03:17] United Nations General Assembly, Israeli [03:19] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held [03:21] up a Starlink device and urged the [03:22] Iranian people to use it to bypass [03:25] internet restrictions. A few minutes [03:27] later, Israel's ambassador to the UN, [03:29] Dani Danon, carried the same device [03:31] toward Iranian toward the Iranian [03:32] delegation's desk and offered it to [03:35] Nasser Assadi, a member of the Iran of [03:37] Iran's UN mission. Assad did not respond [03:40] and declined to accept the device. [03:46] Taken out of context, [03:49] this is a really weird paragraph. I'm [03:50] warning you. Taken out of context, the [03:53] scene could perhaps be viewed simply as [03:55] a striking display of new technology. [03:59] But amid the war between Iran and Israel [04:01] and following military strikes, acts of [04:04] sabotage, cyber operations, and [04:06] information warfare, Starlink carries a [04:09] different meaning. Ooh. Meaning, if we [04:12] didn't know the context, we might just [04:13] think that he was actually offering him [04:16] a uh a Starlink device. And then [04:19] explains what Starlink is. And then it [04:20] says, "NetO displayed the device [04:22] precisely as he was discussing Iran's [04:24] political future. He said that change in [04:26] Iran was only a matter of time and spoke [04:29] of the power of the people against [04:31] Iran's rulers." He then presented [04:32] Starlink as a means of bypassing [04:35] internet restrictions. [04:37] Now, here's their spin. Iran and Israel [04:40] have been engaged in a form of shadow [04:42] warfare for years, ranging from cyber [04:45] attacks and sabotage triggering Iran's [04:48] I'm sorry, targeting Iran's nuclear [04:50] facilities to the assassination of [04:52] scientists and covert operations that [04:54] have in various cases been attributed to [04:57] Israel. Stuckset remains one of the best [05:00] known examples of this conflict. a cyber [05:03] attack targeting Iran's nuclear program [05:06] with further details about US-Israeli [05:08] cooperation in its development emerging [05:11] years later. [05:13] Under such circumstances, the internet [05:15] cannot be entirely separated from the [05:18] arena of conflict either. [05:21] Understand what they're saying here. [05:23] They they're trying to spin this [05:26] Starling thing as an Israeli effort to [05:30] infiltrate in technologically into Iran [05:34] in order to carry out some sort of [05:36] technological attack that it's a [05:38] continuation of the same types of things [05:39] as stuckset, [05:41] right? Meaning they're totally sidest [05:43] stepping the plotline that this is an [05:46] effort to give the Iranian people [05:47] freedom. That's the way they're spinning [05:48] it. Okay? And you know, we'll see. [05:52] They're going to go further with this. [05:53] watch. [05:55] The issue of using Starlink in Iran did [05:57] not begin at the United Nations. In [05:59] 2022, following protests in Iran, Elon [06:03] Musk said he would seek to activate [06:05] Starlink in the country. But the [06:07] challenge was not simply whether the [06:09] service could be activated. Physical [06:10] terminals were required to receive the [06:13] signal, making widespread access [06:16] considerably more difficult. [06:18] Four years later, former Israeli Prime [06:20] Minister Napali Bennett said that Israel [06:23] had at one point attempted to move tens [06:25] of thousands of Starling terminals into [06:27] Iran so that protesters could maintain [06:30] communication in the event of an [06:32] internet shutdown. [06:34] Those remarks in themselves indicate [06:36] that within Israeli policy, at least at [06:38] one point, the issue had moved beyond a [06:40] purely technical discussion. And it's [06:42] true Napali Bennett did say that this [06:44] was a few months ago in in June. Israel [06:47] smuggled Starling systems into Iran, [06:49] former PM says and and Bennett said it [06:52] in an interview and then using it and [06:54] then saying that Netanyahu then dropped [06:56] the ball on this whatever he was just he [06:58] was, you know, electioneering, bashing [07:00] Netanyahu as he always does, but he did [07:02] in fact say this that Israel was [07:04] smuggling Starling systems into Iran. [07:07] Anyway, so look at how the Iranians are [07:08] spinning that. Aha. See, the Israelis [07:10] have this agenda to get this Starling [07:13] stuff in, and that means that they have [07:15] some sort of cyber uh warfare plan here. [07:18] Therefore, when Netanyahu held up a [07:20] Starling device at the UN in 2026, the [07:22] gesture cannot be viewed separately from [07:24] that history. The broader record also [07:27] provides grounds for viewing Starlink [07:29] terminals inside Iran as potentially [07:33] connected to Israeli efforts. So now [07:35] what they're saying is this is also a [07:37] bit of a warning to the Iranian people [07:39] who have Starlink terminals that they're [07:41] viewing them as part of an Israeli plot. [07:44] Thrron is being offered a communications [07:46] tool. [07:48] This is the bizarre part of the article. [07:50] Thran is being offered a communications [07:53] tool by a party with which it has been [07:55] engaged in both covert and open warfare [07:58] for years. In that context, it is [08:01] natural that such an offer would not be [08:03] viewed simply as a technical [08:05] proposition, just as an offer of weapons [08:08] or military equipment from one side of a [08:10] war would not be interpreted [08:12] independently of the history of that [08:14] conflict. Okay, [08:18] it seems that they're actually playing [08:20] along with the joke here. Nathaniel [08:23] wasn't actually offering Starling to [08:26] anybody. He was raising the point. I [08:28] mean, this was a stunt to raise the [08:30] issue of the internet censorship and the [08:33] lack of freedoms of the Iranian people [08:37] and how the greatest threat to these [08:38] people is the greatest threat to the [08:41] regime is if the people actually have [08:43] access to the outside world. It was a [08:44] stunt to make that point, but they're [08:47] they're reading it as an actual offer. [08:50] Look, Tan is being offered a [08:52] communications tool by this enemy that [08:56] they've been involved in open warfare [08:58] against for years. So, we have to look [09:00] at the whole history of the cyber [09:02] warfare and the technological warfare [09:05] going on and realize that this is not [09:07] just a a nice offer of of equipment. Uh, [09:11] yeah, we all knew that it's a stunt. [09:14] It's very strange. Anyway, the most [09:17] important aspect of the Starlink episode [09:19] is the message embedded along [09:20] Netanyahu's remarks about Iran's [09:23] political future. In an international [09:25] forum, he spoke directly about regime [09:27] change in Iran, addressed the Iranian [09:30] people, and immediately brought a [09:32] communications tool into the same [09:34] narrative. At the United Nations, [09:36] Netanyahu said that change in Iran was [09:38] only a matter of time. By displaying [09:40] Starlink, Israel has also signaled that [09:43] it views communications technology as [09:45] part of this arena. Iran's response, [09:48] however, was not another speech within [09:49] the within the same frame, but the [09:52] rejection of the very device being [09:54] offered. We rejected the gift of the [09:56] Starlink because we know that it's a [09:59] trap and it's a tool of warfare. This is [10:02] a weird piece. You understand? They're [10:03] treating it not as the stunt that it [10:05] was. It's a really strange approach to [10:07] this. Uh, I think that they're actually [10:10] worried about the messaging of this. I [10:12] think Netanyahu's messaging worked here [10:14] because again, the whole point of the [10:15] stunt, and I'm not I kind of roll my [10:17] eyes at these stunts, but I'm not the [10:18] audience. The point of these stunts is [10:22] for there to be headlines [10:25] about certain things that Netanyahu [10:26] said, and those headlines are meant to [10:29] remind people of certain key points, [10:32] right? Right. So when he holds up the [10:33] Starlink, it's all just supposed to [10:35] remind everyone about the repression of [10:37] the Iranian people, to remind everyone [10:39] about the evil of the Iranian regime. [10:41] That's the sole point of of the stunt. [10:44] It might also be meant to spook the [10:46] Iranians out and make them say, "Oh, [10:49] whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Are the [10:51] Israelis helping the Iranian people get [10:53] access to the outside world?" Which, if [10:55] that's true, great move. And if that's [10:57] true, it worked because you can see from [10:59] this article that they're totally [11:00] spooked. [11:02] Now, this is a piece from uh a year and [11:04] a half ago. A year and a half ago, early [11:07] 2025. [11:09] Starlink in Iran, digital revolution or [11:12] sovereignty violation. So, this is right [11:13] after Trump comes into office and Elon [11:16] Musk starts talking about pushing more [11:19] and more Starlink [11:21] in Iran, right? Like it it says in here, [11:24] reports indicate that more than 30,000 [11:26] Iranians are currently using this [11:28] service. Over the past two years, the [11:30] number of Starlink users in Iran has [11:32] seen a sharp rise. [11:34] Right. And this is this is long before [11:36] the war. This is this is six months or [11:38] five four months. [11:42] Yeah. Before the 12-day war, right? And [11:46] then down here it talks about the price [11:47] of it and everything. Take a look at [11:49] this here. It talks about Iran's stance [11:50] on Starlink. This is from 2025 during [11:53] the events of 2022 and the death of Masa [11:56] Amini. So Masa Amini was a young woman [12:00] who was arrested for not wearing her [12:03] hijab properly and she died in custody. [12:06] This is in 20 in September 2022 and that [12:09] sparked massive protest some of the [12:10] biggest protests in Iran's history. [12:12] That's the Masamini protests. um Iran [12:16] restrict so during those events [12:19] Iran restricted public access to the [12:21] internet to control the ensuing unrest. [12:23] At that time Elon Musk the owner of [12:26] Starlink stated in a tweet that Iran [12:28] would soon be covered by Starlink [12:30] satellites. Following this a group of [12:32] Republican and Democrat lawmakers in the [12:34] US Congress sent a letter to the [12:36] Treasury Secretary urging immediate [12:38] approval of any request from Elon Musk [12:41] to provide Starling satellite internet [12:43] to Iran. On September 23rd of that year, [12:46] the US Treasury Department announced [12:48] that it had issued a license to expand [12:50] internet services for Iranians. Former [12:52] Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman [12:54] Nasser Kanani in response to the [12:57] potential widespread access of Iranians [12:59] to Starlink satellite internet, [13:02] particularly during the Masa Amini [13:04] protest, accused the United States of [13:07] violating Iran's sovereignty and warned [13:10] that this action will not go unanswered. [13:14] Look at this. Isa Zarapur, former [13:18] Iranian Minister of Communications, also [13:20] referred to Iran's correspondence with [13:21] satellite operators in December 2022. [13:24] That's the Masamini time period, stating [13:26] that according to international law, [13:29] any operator wishing to provide services [13:31] in the territorial domain of a country [13:33] must adhere to that country's landing [13:35] rights. We have informed all satellite [13:38] operators, including Starlink and One [13:40] Webb, of these regulations. If they [13:42] accept these terms, we will welcome [13:43] them. [13:45] Folks, this is another example of the [13:47] failure of the whole mindset, the whole [13:50] concept of international law. Right? [13:53] Let's say there is such an international [13:55] law. You have people out there who think [13:58] that there's some legitimacy to [14:00] international law that a that a brutal [14:03] totalitarian, [14:05] you know, monstrous dictatorship that [14:07] oppresses its own people can invoke [14:10] international law and norms and that [14:13] they have some sort of legitimacy, [14:16] right? Why should they? Why should the [14:19] sovereignty the sovereignty of a brutal [14:21] dictatorship be respected by outsiders [14:23] who are trying to liberate the people [14:25] from within it? Anyway, but that's a [14:27] yeah, so this is an old story. This is [14:29] from 2025. And as you see, this goes all [14:31] the way all the way back to 2022. [14:34] Now, once we're on the topic of Starlink [14:36] in Iran, this is an interesting story [14:38] from back in May. This is from the BBC [14:40] back in May. The clandestine network [14:43] smuggling Starlink tech into Iran to [14:45] beat the internet blackout. Remember, [14:47] there was this months-long internet [14:49] blackout that started when the war began [14:51] in February 28th. And this is a this is [14:54] a piece in in that the BBC ran profiling [14:57] this guy who smuggles Starlink into [15:00] Iran. If one extra person is able to [15:02] access the internet, I think it's [15:03] successful and worth it, said Sahan. [15:06] That's not his real name. The Iranian [15:07] man is visibly anxious speaking to the [15:09] BBC outside Iran as he carefully [15:11] explains how he is part of a clandestine [15:14] network smuggling satellite internet [15:16] technology which is illegal in Iran into [15:17] the country. It says that they changed [15:19] all the names in this piece. The [15:21] Starlink devices son sends to Iran are [15:23] one of the most reliable ways of [15:24] bypassing the shutdown. The white flat [15:26] terminals paired with routers provide [15:28] internet access by connecting to a [15:30] network of satellites owned by Elon [15:32] Musk's SpaceX company, allowing users to [15:35] completely bypass Iran's heavily [15:36] controlled domestic internet. He says he [15:39] and others in the network buy them and [15:40] smuggle them through the borders in a [15:42] very complex operation. The Human Rights [15:45] Organization Witness estimated in [15:47] January that there were at least 50,000 [15:50] Starlink terminals at Iran. Activists [15:52] say the number is likely to have risen. [15:55] The BBC contacted SpaceX for details, [15:57] but didn't get a response. [16:00] Last year, the Iranian government passed [16:01] legislation that made using, buying, or [16:03] selling Starlink devices punishable by [16:06] up to two years in prison. [16:09] Look at that. It is a crime. The jail [16:13] term for distributing or importing more [16:14] than 10 devices can be up to 10 years. [16:18] State affiliated media has reported [16:19] multiple cases of people being arrested [16:21] for selling and buying Starling [16:23] terminals, including four people, two of [16:25] them foreign nationals, arrested last [16:27] month for importing satellite internet [16:30] equipment. It it has also reported that [16:32] some of the arrests include accusations [16:34] of possessing illegal weapons and [16:37] sending information to the enemy. You [16:39] see, a Starling router is an illegal [16:41] weapon. Iran's current internet setup [16:43] has been described as a tiered system. [16:46] All Iranians have access to state [16:47] controlled domestic network on which [16:50] services such as banking, ride hailing, [16:52] and food delivery operate as well as [16:54] state-run media. Before the blackouts, [16:57] Iranians were also able to access the [16:59] global internet. But many sites and [17:00] services such as Instagram, Telegram, [17:02] YouTube, and WhatsApp were blocked, and [17:05] the government set higher prices for [17:07] access than for the domestic network. [17:10] In 2022, Musk said he was activating [17:12] Starlink in Iran following severe [17:14] internet disruptions during the Masamini [17:16] protest. Since then, it has grown, [17:18] especially during shutdowns. Okay. Um, [17:22] and then a little news on some of the [17:24] arrests. Yasmine, an American Iranian [17:26] whose name we have changed, told the BBC [17:28] a male member of her family was arrested [17:30] in Iran and accused of espionage because [17:32] he owned a Starlink terminal. That's [17:35] what this. So, you see that this has [17:36] been an issue for a long time. Netanyahu [17:38] was poking them and he obviously got a [17:40] rise out of them. They're a little [17:42] freaked out about it and that's why [17:43] they're running articles like this uh [17:46] you know trying to you know trying to [17:49] deflect what this story is really about. [17:51] It's really just a way of highlighting [17:52] the repression. Now before we go on make [17:55] sure that you uh that if you're [17:57] interested in this you know all about it [18:00] behind the headlines tour March 7th to [18:02] 14th fascinating tour. We're going to be [18:04] doing an 8-day trip to Israel led by [18:06] yours truly and Dr. David Worms [18:08] together. We'll be leading this trip and [18:11] uh 8 days luxury five-star [18:13] accommodations and high level meetings, [18:16] people in the government, military, uh [18:19] prominent journalists, community [18:20] leaders, briefings in strategic [18:22] locations around the country. It's going [18:24] to be an incredible trip. Uh if you want [18:26] and it's going to be an exclusive trip, [18:28] small, we're keeping it under 20 people. [18:29] If you're interested, you want to check [18:31] it out, uh check out the link in the [18:33] description of this video. Israel behind [18:34] the headlines tour with myself and the [18:36] great Dr. David Wormser. All right, last [18:39] uh story I want to share with you and [18:41] this is just on the topic of the [18:43] repression of the regime. This is a [18:45] story that was just published the other [18:47] day. Yesterday, prosecutors target [18:50] Tehran play over scene between male and [18:53] female actors. [18:55] So this scene is illegal. [18:58] Tehran prosecutors have opened a [19:00] criminal case against a theater company [19:01] after a spectator's phone video showed [19:04] an actress resting her head against an [19:06] actor's chest on stage. In a scene the [19:09] production says depicts a brother and [19:11] sister. The footage shows Masudif [19:14] leaning her head towards Sedigan's chest [19:16] as he appears to touch her head. [19:18] Physical contact between unrelated men [19:20] and women in public is policed in the [19:22] Islamic Republic under religious rules [19:24] the state enforces and the stage has not [19:27] been exempt. FAR's news agency [19:31] affiliated with the IRGC criticized the [19:33] scene and said the larger problem was [19:35] what it described as the gradual erosion [19:38] of the boundaries governing artistic [19:39] freedom and public conduct. It seems [19:42] there's no supervision over theater [19:43] stages. Farsyus wrote, "The company also [19:46] said on Saturday, the controversy rested [19:48] on a misunderstanding and that the video [19:50] did not show the true distance between [19:52] the actors. The images were filmed at a [19:54] tight angle on the spectator's phone," [19:56] it said, which created a misleading [19:57] impression. It added that it had changed [19:59] the actor's positions on stage to avoid [20:01] further misunderstanding. "The two [20:04] characters in the scene are brother and [20:05] sister," the production said, and the [20:06] contact comes at a moment of crisis in [20:08] the story. And then we have another case [20:11] of this this singer. She's a singer, an [20:15] Iranian singer. So this case on the of [20:17] the play comes amid other recent [20:19] judicial measures involving artists and [20:21] public events over compliance with [20:22] Islamic Republic social and religious [20:24] restrictions. An appeals court in K [20:26] Friday upheld sentences against singer [20:29] Parasu Amari and seven musicians and [20:32] others involved in caravans concert. [20:36] Each was sentenced to 74 lashes. [20:39] a two-year ban on audiovisisual musical [20:41] activity and a two-year travel ban. 74 [20:44] lashes and these bands. Amadi performed [20:49] without the mandatory hijab alongside [20:52] male musicians. The lower court said the [20:54] performance and its online publication [20:56] had violated public morality and [20:58] religious and legal norms. The appeals [21:00] court rejected the defendant's challenge [21:02] and made the ruling final. So, they are [21:04] cracking down, folks. Uh they and they [21:07] feel that they're losing their grip on [21:08] things. There's more and more stories [21:10] like this every day. This is what I [21:13] wanted to share with you. Uh listen, uh [21:16] we have to pray, continue to pray for [21:17] the Iranian people. Hope that they can [21:19] get some internet access and uh and [21:22] other real weapons that they need in [21:24] order to bring down the regime. But [21:26] yeah, it looks like Prime Minister now [21:28] kind of freaked them out. So, thanks for [21:29] watching. Hope you found this [21:30] interesting. Please like, share, [21:32] subscribe, do all the good stuff. I'll [21:33] bring you I have more news updates uh [21:36] that I'm recording today as well. [21:37] There's going to be a few videos going [21:38] up soon.
