According to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), some programs transmitted via the Intelsat satellite were briefly disrupted late on Sunday night, affecting reception in parts of the country.
Shortly after the incident, several anti-Iran-linked media outlets described the disruption as a “hack” of Iran’s state television, framing it as a cyberattack.
In response, the IRIB issued a statement providing an initial explanation of the incident.
“On Sunday night, the broadcast of IRIB programs on the Intelsat satellite was disrupted for a few moments in some parts of the country by an unknown source,” the statement said.
“Thanks to the timely and immediate action of the organization’s technical teams, this deliberate disruption was resolved and the normal transmission of television programs via this satellite continued,” it added.
Meanwhile, further inquiries by the Tasnim News Agency sought to clarify the nature of the disruption amid conflicting claims of hacking and cyber warfare.
One senior IRIB official rejected the cyberattack narrative, saying the incident had “no cyber nature at all” and should instead be described as signal warfare (electronic warfare).
“The satellite used to carry our signal was targeted by a powerful interfering signal,” the official said.
The official explained that while the IRIB’s signal was being transmitted, “a jamming carrier from a location outside the country began transmitting on the same frequency with high power.”
“When the power of the interfering signal increases, its transmitted content replaces our original content,” the official added.
The official also noted that the Intelsat satellite operator itself was affected by the interference.
“A notable point is that last night the Intelsat satellite company was also involved in this issue, and the interfering carrier effectively overlapped with the satellite,” the official said.
As a result, Iranian officials said the disruption was neither a hacking incident nor a cyberattack, but an example of technical confrontation through satellite signal interference.