Following tipoffs and after obtaining search warrants, agents of the hardline Basij militia discovered and confiscated 40,000 the equipment, the conservative newspaper said.

The factory owners were arrested and their cases turned over to the public prosecutor's office, the paper added without giving further details.

During the past month, militiamen have also dismantled two prostitution bands and arrested some runaway girls and women, the newspaper said.

Possessing satellite equipment without special permission is forbidden in Iran. The country's hardliners denounce foreign satellite broadcasts, which it argues trample on Islamic values and are increasingly used by exiled opposition groups, especially based in Los Angeles, to stir anti-government unrest.

But official estimates show that about three million households have access to satellite television, while security forces have in recent years only managed to seize 70,000 sets.

SPACE.WIRE