Pierluigi Paganini
January 18, 2026
Anti-regime activists briefly took control of Iran ’s Badr satellite, hijacking state TV to broadcast Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi’s calls for protests against the Islamic Republic. Pahlavi’s media team also shared the footage of the hack.
“Several Iranian state TV channels carried on the Badr satellite were hacked on Sunday, broadcasting footage of protests along with calls by Iran’s exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi for people to join demonstrations and for military forces to side with protesters.” Iran International English posted on X.
The hacked broadcast aired around 9:30 p.m. and lasted about 10 minutes, according to Israel’s public broadcaster KAN News.
The hijacked broadcast urged protesters to keep going, showed solidarity protests around the world, and included support from international leaders.
It also featured Pahlavi calling for more protests and asking Iran’s military and security forces to support the demonstrators.
“In the video, the broadcast appears to include messages in Farsi encouraging protesters to continue their activities, media footage of solidarity protests worldwide, and messages of support from international leaders.” reported The Jerusalem Post.
On January 18, 2026, the independent and non-partisan global internet monitor NetBlocks reported that Internet traffic in Iran dropped again after a brief, tightly restricted restoration of some Google and messaging services, during which a few users shared updates on the crisis.
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