Iran’s communications ministry confirmed deliberate GPS jamming affecting millions of people in the wake of a war with Israel and said it is considering adopting China’s BeiDou in order to thwart drone and missile attacks.
“Some of the disruptions to the GPS system originate from within the country for military and security purposes,” Ehsan Chitsaz, Deputy Communications Minister, told the Ham-Mihan newspaper on Monday, acknowledging the government's role.
He added that “political priorities following the ceasefire between the Islamic Republic and Israel may have led to shifting satellite allocations.”
The main purpose of the jamming is to misdirect drones or guided missiles, preventing them from striking their intended targets.
While most modern military drones and missiles use encrypted GPS signals for military use only, some reconnaissance drones and guided bombs or missiles still rely on unencrypted, open GPS signals, making them vulnerable to interference.
Tehran has felt the disruptions more than most regions in recent days. Domestic navigation apps such as Balad and Neshan, as well as international ones like Waze, have been displaying incorrect maps or placing users in locations such as Europe, Canada, or Africa while signals are scrambled.
Chitsaz also confirmed Iran was now exploring alternative systems, pointing to its ally China’s BeiDou navigation constellation.
“The Islamic Republic is set to pursue alternative options such as China’s BeiDou system, which has been raised as one of the main axes of the long-time joint agreement during ongoing negotiations between Tehran and Beijing," he said.
The Global Positioning System consists of 24 advanced satellites owned by the US Department of Defense that orbit the Earth and use mathematical data to help GPS receivers determine location and even time. The number of satellites has now risen to over 30, increasing the system’s accuracy.
A smartphone or any device equipped with a GPS receiver determines its physical location by receiving signals from satellites and calculating based on the time the signals were sent and the satellites' positions.
If the clocks on these satellites are off by even a thousandth of a second, users can be placed 200 or 300 kilometers away from the correct location, as many in Iran have experienced.
Navigation outages tied to internal security clampdown
Chitsaz’s remarks follow mounting public complaints of GPS disruptions across Iranian cities. Users reported navigation apps displaying incorrect locations, with one example cited by Ham-Mihan involving a driver in Shahr-e-Rey, southern Tehran, being shown in Shiraz.
During the 12-day war, internet and mobile blackouts were announced as necessary for national security, seeing many Iranians without the internet for several days in a row.
Hossein Meysami, director of new technologies at the communications ministry, acknowledged difficulties faced by the likes of taxi drivers and couriers who depend on GPS services for business.
“We must accept that an event occurred in our country, and it was reasonable for certain agencies that are sensitive in this area to impose restrictions until conditions normalize,” Meysami said on Monday, referring to the lingering after-effects of the 12-day war with Israel.
He also warned that senior military and government personnel should under no circumstances use WhatsApp, citing security concerns.
In Tehran, GPS disruptions have been reported near military and security sites such as the Ministry of Defense and sensitive locations such as around the residences of the Supreme Leader.
In these restricted zones, residents have been unable to locate themselves for days or even longer, with their phones showing them in distant places like Mehrabad Airport, or even in another country.
Damage to digital businesses acknowledged
The deputy minister also admitted that government-imposed internet restrictions have hurt the private sector, affecting as many as 10 million internet-dependent businesses.
“Filtering and systemic disruption have not only destroyed some businesses but also created social despair and mistrust,” Chitsaz admitted.
During the war, rights group HRANA said over 1,100 Iranians had been killed by Israel, including military personnel and nuclear scientists targeted, with senior figures eliminated in a wave of precision strikes.
Iran says 13 top nuclear scientists were killed with a further 20 commanders, including the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also eliminated.
On Saturday, IRGC-affiliated Fars News said that the country's president was among several injured when an Israeli strike targeted a National Security Council meeting.
