Naftali Bennett claims Israel smuggled Starlink into Iran five years ago

Israel secretly smuggled Starlink internet receivers into Iran to support anti-government protesters five years ago but Benjamin Netanyahu failed to follow through on the plans, former prime minister Naftali Bennett has claimed.

Speaking at the JNS International Policy Summit in Jerusalem, Mr Bennett, who served as prime minister from 2021 to 2022, said he had initiated a "process of acquiring and smuggling into Iran tens of thousands of Starlink receptors that would allow continuity of the internet and social networks".

Starlink, owned by Elon Musk's SpaceX, provides satellite internet connections. Its operation is not licensed to operate in Iran, though Mr Musk has previously said the service is active there.

Iranian authorities have previously accused Israel and the US of smuggling these devices to undermine its security. Mr Bennett explained the devices were intended to enable protesters to coordinate and ultimately topple the Iranian government.

"Unfortunately, the current incompetent Israeli government stopped doing that," he said. "And when the protest happened, that infrastructure was not there."

Netanyahu’s office ⁠did not immediately respond to questions on Bennett’s remarks and SpaceX was not available for comment outside US business hours.

Iranian authorities have a history of shutting down the public’s access to the internet during periods of unrest.

This includes during deadly nationwide protests in January and throughout the US and Israeli war with Iran that began at the end of February.

Bennett, leader of a right-wing party and ‌one of several opposition politicians vying ⁠to replace Netanyahu in an election due by October, said ⁠Israel and other Middle East states need to "join forces to repel and ultimately ‌topple" Iran's government.

"It's ​a rotten, old, disconnected, incompetent regime, ‌and it will fall like the ​Soviet Union fell," he said, to applause.