JERUSALEM, Israel: A former Israeli prime minister said this week that Israel had secretly brought Starlink internet devices into Iran to help people protesting against the government. However, he said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government did not continue the plan.

Naftali Bennett, who was prime minister from 2021 to 2022, said at a conference in Jerusalem that he had started a plan to get and secretly send tens of thousands of Starlink devices into Iran so people could keep using the internet and social media.

Starlink, which is owned by Elon Musk's company, SpaceX, provides internet access via satellites. Iran has earlier accused Israel and the United States of bringing in these devices to weaken its security. Starlink is not officially allowed in Iran, but Musk has previously said it is operating there.

Bennett said the devices were meant to help protesters communicate and eventually remove the Iranian government.

"Unfortunately, the current Israeli government stopped this work," he said. "So when the protests happened, the system was not ready."

Netanyahu's office did not immediately reply to questions, and SpaceX was not available for comment at that time.

Iranian authorities have often shut down internet access during unrest, including during deadly protests in January and during the war between Iran, the U.S., and Israel that started in late February.

Reuters has reported before that some Iranians used Starlink during these internet shutdowns.

Bennett, who leads a right-wing party and is one of several opposition leaders trying to replace Netanyahu in an election expected by October, said Israel and other Middle Eastern countries should work together to push back against and eventually remove Iran's government.

He described Iran's leadership as weak and outdated, and said it would eventually fall as the Soviet Union did.