In recent weeks, Elon Musk followed President Donald Trump’s lead, cracking down on Iranian government officials and supporting thousands of protesters protesting against the regime. He even provides free access to his Starlink satellites among a nationwide internet blackout.

But while publicly expressing his support for the protesters, Musk’s company X appears to be profiting from the same government officials he mocks, potentially violating US sanctions in the process, according to a new report from the Tech Transparency Project (TTP) shared exclusively with WIRED.

The TTP has identified more than two dozen X accounts allegedly run by Iranian government officials, state agencies, and state-run news outlets that display a blue checkmark, indicating they have access to X’s premium service. These accounts share state-sponsored propaganda at a time when ordinary Iranians do not have access to the internet, and their messages appear to be artificially amplified to increase reach and engagement, which is a key aspect of X’s premium service. An X Premium subscription, which is the only way to receive a blue check mark, costs $8 a month, while a Premium + subscription, which removes ads and increases reach even further, costs $40 a month.

During the Trump administration threatens Iran along with possible military action if it fails to meet demands related to nuclear enrichment and ballistic missiles, X appears to be undermining those efforts by providing a social media bullhorn for the Iranian government to spread its message.

“The fact that Elon Musk is not only platforming these individuals, but taking their money to increase their content through these premium subscriptions and giving them additional features also means that he is lowering the sanctions implemented by the US and the Trump administration,” Katie Paul, the director of TTP, told WIRED.

X did not respond to a request for comment, but within hours of WIRED flagging several X accounts belonging to Iranian officials, their blue checkmarks had been removed. The remaining accounts recognized by TTP but not shared with X continue to display a blue check mark.

The White House directed WIRED to the Treasury when asked for comment. A Treasury spokesman said they do not comment on specific allegations but “we take allegations of sanctionable conduct very seriously.”

At the end of last year, protests broke out in the Iranian capital of Tehran on December 28 due to the continued decline of the Iranian rial against the dollar and a widespread economic crisis in the country. In the following days, thousands of protesters poured into the streets of cities across the country, calling for regime change and an end to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s 37-year rule.

In response, the regime brutally cracked down on protesters, arresting thousands of people and killing thousands more. The actual death toll is not known yet could be even higher than reported today.

Trump signaled his support for the protesters in a post on Truth Social on Jan. 2, promising to protect them. “We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” he wrote. Musk then followed Trump, calling Khamenei “delusional.”

On January 5, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, the head of Iran’s judiciary, who had a blue check mark at the time, wrote in a post on X, “This time, we will show no mercy to the rioters.” Ejei was among the accounts whose blue checkmarks were removed Wednesday after WIRED contacted the company.

A few days later, X changed the flag of Iran platform emoji to the one used before the 1979 revolution, with a lion and sun. On January 14, Musk announced that anyone with a Starlink device can access the internet in Iran for free without a subscription. At the time, Starlink devices were the only available way to get online after the government imposed a near-total internet blackout.