Elon Musk Appears To Be Violating US Sanctions By Providing X Premium Accounts To Iran
Released on 02/12/2026
Elon Musk's X potentially violated US sanctions
by appearing to allow Iranian government officials
to subscribe to its X Premium service.
That's according to a new report
from the Tech Transparency Project
shared exclusively with WIRED.
While the Iranian regime was brutally cracking down
on protesters and imposing an internet blackout,
drawing condemnation from Musk
and the Trump administration,
more than two dozen X accounts allegedly run
by government officials, state agencies,
and state-run news outlets displayed a blue checkmark
as they shared state-sponsored propaganda.
X did not respond to a request for comment,
but within hours of WIRED highlighting
a number of the accounts belonging to the Iranian officials,
their blue checkmarks were removed.
However, the rest of the accounts identified
by the Tech Transparency Project but not shared with X
still have their blue checkmark.
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren,
who wrote to the Treasuring following the publication
of another report by the Tech Transparency Project
that found X was providing blue checkmarks
to US-sanctioned terrorists,
tells WIRED in a statement,
By failing to take basic steps to enforce our sanctions,
the Trump administration continues to undermine
our national security and the integrity
of our financial system.
Read the full story at WIRED.com.
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