Eutelsat accuses Iran of jamming satellite pair amid civil unrest in country

Eutelsat has accused the Iranian state of jamming its satellites.

The operator issued a statement accusing Iran of jamming two of its satellites since September 26 in a move which is “explicitly prohibited” by International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Radio Regulations.

Eutelsat is one of the largest satellite operators in the world and provides coverage to around 7,000 TV stations across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas,

The statement said: “Since 26 September, Eutelsat has been experiencing jamming on two of its satellites. The interferences harmfully affect the transmission of several digital TV and radio channels broadcasting in Persian from outside of Iran, as well as other channels. As a result of measurements conducted with a specially designed interference detection system, Eutelsat concluded that the uplink transmissions of all these interfering carriers originated in Iran.”

It goes on to say that the company is “using all appropriate national and international procedures” and has notified the relevant authorities in the country that “the harmful jamming operations be immediately and permanently stopped.”

Iran is currently facing a civil rights uprising amid weeks of unrest following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in Iranian police custody last month and a widespread movement against the country’s law that all women must wear the hijab. The alleged satellite jamming is likely an attempt from the state to limit communications inside and out of the country, with a number of social media apps also having been taken offline.