diff --git a/packages/api/src/beacon/routes/lodestar.ts b/packages/api/src/beacon/routes/lodestar.ts
index 5622c9949ef5..5236d3d40e38 100644
--- a/packages/api/src/beacon/routes/lodestar.ts
+++ b/packages/api/src/beacon/routes/lodestar.ts
@@ -54,6 +54,18 @@ export type GossipPeerScoreStat = {
   // + Other un-typed options
 };
 
+/**
+ * A multiaddr with peer ID or ENR string.
+ *
+ * Supported formats:
+ * - Multiaddr with peer ID: `/ip4/192.168.1.1/tcp/9000/p2p/16Uiu2HAmKLhW7...`
+ * - ENR: `enr:-IS4QHCYrYZbAKWCBRlAy5zzaDZXJBGkcnh4MHcBFZntXNFrdvJjX04jRzjzCBOo...`
+ *
+ * For multiaddrs, the string must contain a /p2p/ component with the peer ID.
+ * For ENRs, the TCP multiaddr and peer ID are extracted from the encoded record.
+ */
+export type DirectPeer = string;
+
 export type RegenQueueItem = {
   key: string;
   args: unknown;
@@ -240,6 +252,41 @@ export type Endpoints = {
     EmptyResponseData,
     EmptyMeta
   >;
+
+  /**
+   * Add a direct peer at runtime.
+   * Direct peers maintain permanent mesh connections without GRAFT/PRUNE negotiation.
+   * Accepts either a multiaddr with peer ID or an ENR string.
+   */
+  addDirectPeer: Endpoint<
+    // ⏎
+    "POST",
+    {peer: DirectPeer},
+    {query: {peer: string}},
+    {peerId: string},
+    EmptyMeta
+  >;
+
+  /** Remove a peer from direct peers */
+  removeDirectPeer: Endpoint<
+    // ⏎
+    "DELETE",
+    {peerId: string},
+    {query: {peerId: string}},
+    {removed: boolean},
+    EmptyMeta
+  >;
+
+  /** Get list of direct peer IDs */
+  getDirectPeers: Endpoint<
+    // ⏎
+    "GET",
+    EmptyArgs,
+    EmptyRequest,
+    string[],
+    EmptyMeta
+  >;
+
   /** Same to node api with new fields */
   getPeers: Endpoint<
     "GET",
@@ -443,6 +490,32 @@ export function getDefinitions(_config: ChainForkConfig): RouteDefinitions<Endpo
       },
       resp: EmptyResponseCodec,
     },
+    addDirectPeer: {
+      url: "/eth/v1/lodestar/direct_peers",
+      method: "POST",
+      req: {
+        writeReq: ({peer}) => ({query: {peer}}),
+        parseReq: ({query}) => ({peer: query.peer}),
+        schema: {query: {peer: Schema.StringRequired}},
+      },
+      resp: JsonOnlyResponseCodec,
+    },
+    removeDirectPeer: {
+      url: "/eth/v1/lodestar/direct_peers",
+      method: "DELETE",
+      req: {
+        writeReq: ({peerId}) => ({query: {peerId}}),
+        parseReq: ({query}) => ({peerId: query.peerId}),
+        schema: {query: {peerId: Schema.StringRequired}},
+      },
+      resp: JsonOnlyResponseCodec,
+    },
+    getDirectPeers: {
+      url: "/eth/v1/lodestar/direct_peers",
+      method: "GET",
+      req: EmptyRequestCodec,
+      resp: JsonOnlyResponseCodec,
+    },
     getPeers: {
       url: "/eth/v1/lodestar/peers",
       method: "GET",
diff --git a/packages/beacon-node/src/api/impl/lodestar/index.ts b/packages/beacon-node/src/api/impl/lodestar/index.ts
index ce5abcfc886e..9f94bdc1ad15 100644
--- a/packages/beacon-node/src/api/impl/lodestar/index.ts
+++ b/packages/beacon-node/src/api/impl/lodestar/index.ts
@@ -154,6 +154,23 @@ export function getLodestarApi({
       await network.disconnectPeer(peerId);
     },
 
+    async addDirectPeer({peer}) {
+      const peerId = await network.addDirectPeer(peer);
+      if (peerId === null) {
+        throw new ApiError(400, `Failed to add direct peer: invalid peer address or ENR "${peer}"`);
+      }
+      return {data: {peerId}};
+    },
+
+    async removeDirectPeer({peerId}) {
+      const removed = await network.removeDirectPeer(peerId);
+      return {data: {removed}};
+    },
+
+    async getDirectPeers() {
+      return {data: await network.getDirectPeers()};
+    },
+
     async getPeers({state, direction}) {
       const peers = (await network.dumpPeers()).filter(
         (nodePeer) =>
diff --git a/packages/beacon-node/src/network/core/networkCore.ts b/packages/beacon-node/src/network/core/networkCore.ts
index 06481890ca4e..d5ec1f6e9abe 100644
--- a/packages/beacon-node/src/network/core/networkCore.ts
+++ b/packages/beacon-node/src/network/core/networkCore.ts
@@ -454,6 +454,18 @@ export class NetworkCore implements INetworkCore {
     await this.libp2p.hangUp(peerIdFromString(peerIdStr));
   }
 
+  async addDirectPeer(peer: routes.lodestar.DirectPeer): Promise<string | null> {
+    return this.gossip.addDirectPeer(peer);
+  }
+
+  async removeDirectPeer(peerIdStr: PeerIdStr): Promise<boolean> {
+    return this.gossip.removeDirectPeer(peerIdStr);
+  }
+
+  async getDirectPeers(): Promise<string[]> {
+    return this.gossip.getDirectPeers();
+  }
+
   private _dumpPeer(peerIdStr: string, connections: Connection[]): routes.lodestar.LodestarNodePeer {
     const peerData = this.peersData.connectedPeers.get(peerIdStr);
     const fork = this.config.getForkName(this.clock.currentSlot);
diff --git a/packages/beacon-node/src/network/core/networkCoreWorker.ts b/packages/beacon-node/src/network/core/networkCoreWorker.ts
index e5cf1ba4dda8..8dd8229d5b70 100644
--- a/packages/beacon-node/src/network/core/networkCoreWorker.ts
+++ b/packages/beacon-node/src/network/core/networkCoreWorker.ts
@@ -153,6 +153,9 @@ const libp2pWorkerApi: NetworkWorkerApi = {
   getConnectedPeerCount: () => core.getConnectedPeerCount(),
   connectToPeer: (peer, multiaddr) => core.connectToPeer(peer, multiaddr),
   disconnectPeer: (peer) => core.disconnectPeer(peer),
+  addDirectPeer: (peer) => core.addDirectPeer(peer),
+  removeDirectPeer: (peerId) => core.removeDirectPeer(peerId),
+  getDirectPeers: () => core.getDirectPeers(),
   dumpPeers: () => core.dumpPeers(),
   dumpPeer: (peerIdStr) => core.dumpPeer(peerIdStr),
   dumpPeerScoreStats: () => core.dumpPeerScoreStats(),
diff --git a/packages/beacon-node/src/network/core/networkCoreWorkerHandler.ts b/packages/beacon-node/src/network/core/networkCoreWorkerHandler.ts
index 5ce810a30f6c..194a7a9ea73a 100644
--- a/packages/beacon-node/src/network/core/networkCoreWorkerHandler.ts
+++ b/packages/beacon-node/src/network/core/networkCoreWorkerHandler.ts
@@ -247,6 +247,15 @@ export class WorkerNetworkCore implements INetworkCore {
   disconnectPeer(peer: PeerIdStr): Promise<void> {
     return this.getApi().disconnectPeer(peer);
   }
+  addDirectPeer(peer: routes.lodestar.DirectPeer): Promise<string | null> {
+    return this.getApi().addDirectPeer(peer);
+  }
+  removeDirectPeer(peerId: PeerIdStr): Promise<boolean> {
+    return this.getApi().removeDirectPeer(peerId);
+  }
+  getDirectPeers(): Promise<string[]> {
+    return this.getApi().getDirectPeers();
+  }
   dumpPeers(): Promise<routes.lodestar.LodestarNodePeer[]> {
     return this.getApi().dumpPeers();
   }
diff --git a/packages/beacon-node/src/network/core/types.ts b/packages/beacon-node/src/network/core/types.ts
index f372bc686778..1763b2e6bd61 100644
--- a/packages/beacon-node/src/network/core/types.ts
+++ b/packages/beacon-node/src/network/core/types.ts
@@ -30,6 +30,12 @@ export interface INetworkCorePublic {
   // Debug
   connectToPeer(peer: PeerIdStr, multiaddr: MultiaddrStr[]): Promise<void>;
   disconnectPeer(peer: PeerIdStr): Promise<void>;
+
+  // Direct peers management
+  addDirectPeer(peer: routes.lodestar.DirectPeer): Promise<string | null>;
+  removeDirectPeer(peerId: PeerIdStr): Promise<boolean>;
+  getDirectPeers(): Promise<string[]>;
+
   dumpPeers(): Promise<routes.lodestar.LodestarNodePeer[]>;
   dumpPeer(peerIdStr: PeerIdStr): Promise<routes.lodestar.LodestarNodePeer | undefined>;
   dumpPeerScoreStats(): Promise<PeerScoreStats>;
diff --git a/packages/beacon-node/src/network/gossip/gossipsub.ts b/packages/beacon-node/src/network/gossip/gossipsub.ts
index bd38a93006e0..2018591f781e 100644
--- a/packages/beacon-node/src/network/gossip/gossipsub.ts
+++ b/packages/beacon-node/src/network/gossip/gossipsub.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import {GossipSub, GossipsubEvents} from "@chainsafe/libp2p-gossipsub";
 import {MetricsRegister, TopicLabel, TopicStrToLabel} from "@chainsafe/libp2p-gossipsub/metrics";
 import {PeerScoreParams} from "@chainsafe/libp2p-gossipsub/score";
 import {AddrInfo, SignaturePolicy, TopicStr} from "@chainsafe/libp2p-gossipsub/types";
+import {routes} from "@lodestar/api";
 import {BeaconConfig, ForkBoundary} from "@lodestar/config";
 import {ATTESTATION_SUBNET_COUNT, SLOTS_PER_EPOCH, SYNC_COMMITTEE_SUBNET_COUNT} from "@lodestar/params";
 import {SubnetID} from "@lodestar/types";
@@ -87,6 +88,7 @@ export class Eth2Gossipsub extends GossipSub {
   private readonly logger: Logger;
   private readonly peersData: PeersData;
   private readonly events: NetworkEventBus;
+  private readonly libp2p: Libp2p;
 
   // Internal caches
   private readonly gossipTopicCache: GossipTopicCache;
@@ -159,6 +161,7 @@ export class Eth2Gossipsub extends GossipSub {
     this.logger = logger;
     this.peersData = peersData;
     this.events = events;
+    this.libp2p = modules.libp2p;
     this.gossipTopicCache = gossipTopicCache;
 
     this.addEventListener("gossipsub:message", this.onGossipsubMessage.bind(this));
@@ -341,6 +344,64 @@ export class Eth2Gossipsub extends GossipSub {
       this.reportMessageValidationResult(data.msgId, data.propagationSource, data.acceptance);
     });
   }
+
+  /**
+   * Add a peer as a direct peer at runtime. Accepts multiaddr with peer ID or ENR string.
+   * Direct peers maintain permanent mesh connections without GRAFT/PRUNE negotiation.
+   */
+  async addDirectPeer(peerStr: routes.lodestar.DirectPeer): Promise<string | null> {
+    const parsed = parseDirectPeers([peerStr], this.logger);
+    if (parsed.length === 0) {
+      return null;
+    }
+
+    const {id: peerId, addrs} = parsed[0];
+    const peerIdStr = peerId.toString();
+
+    // Prevent adding self as a direct peer
+    if (peerId.equals(this.libp2p.peerId)) {
+      this.logger.warn("Cannot add self as a direct peer", {peerId: peerIdStr});
+      return null;
+    }
+
+    // Direct peers need addresses to connect - reject if none provided
+    if (addrs.length === 0) {
+      this.logger.warn("Cannot add direct peer without addresses", {peerId: peerIdStr});
+      return null;
+    }
+
+    // Add addresses to peer store first so we can connect
+    try {
+      await this.libp2p.peerStore.merge(peerId, {multiaddrs: addrs});
+    } catch (e) {
+      this.logger.warn("Failed to add direct peer addresses to peer store", {peerId: peerIdStr}, e as Error);
+      return null;
+    }
+
+    // Add to direct peers set only after addresses are stored
+    this.direct.add(peerIdStr);
+
+    this.logger.info("Added direct peer via API", {peerId: peerIdStr});
+    return peerIdStr;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Remove a peer from direct peers.
+   */
+  removeDirectPeer(peerIdStr: string): boolean {
+    const removed = this.direct.delete(peerIdStr);
+    if (removed) {
+      this.logger.info("Removed direct peer via API", {peerId: peerIdStr});
+    }
+    return removed;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Get list of current direct peer IDs.
+   */
+  getDirectPeers(): string[] {
+    return Array.from(this.direct);
+  }
 }
 
 /**
@@ -406,7 +467,7 @@ function getForkBoundaryLabel(boundary: ForkBoundary): ForkBoundaryLabel {
  * For multiaddrs, the string must contain a /p2p/ component with the peer ID.
  * For ENRs, the TCP multiaddr and peer ID are extracted from the encoded record.
  */
-export function parseDirectPeers(directPeerStrs: string[], logger: Logger): AddrInfo[] {
+export function parseDirectPeers(directPeerStrs: routes.lodestar.DirectPeer[], logger: Logger): AddrInfo[] {
   const directPeers: AddrInfo[] = [];
 
   for (const peerStr of directPeerStrs) {
diff --git a/packages/beacon-node/src/network/network.ts b/packages/beacon-node/src/network/network.ts
index 6169102af4d5..94e5b000909c 100644
--- a/packages/beacon-node/src/network/network.ts
+++ b/packages/beacon-node/src/network/network.ts
@@ -641,6 +641,18 @@ export class Network implements INetwork {
     return this.core.disconnectPeer(peer);
   }
 
+  addDirectPeer(peer: routes.lodestar.DirectPeer): Promise<string | null> {
+    return this.core.addDirectPeer(peer);
+  }
+
+  removeDirectPeer(peerId: string): Promise<boolean> {
+    return this.core.removeDirectPeer(peerId);
+  }
+
+  getDirectPeers(): Promise<string[]> {
+    return this.core.getDirectPeers();
+  }
+
   dumpPeer(peerIdStr: string): Promise<routes.lodestar.LodestarNodePeer | undefined> {
     return this.core.dumpPeer(peerIdStr);
   }
diff --git a/packages/beacon-node/test/e2e/network/onWorker/dataSerialization.test.ts b/packages/beacon-node/test/e2e/network/onWorker/dataSerialization.test.ts
index 35fdc57f4d56..cbef30901e57 100644
--- a/packages/beacon-node/test/e2e/network/onWorker/dataSerialization.test.ts
+++ b/packages/beacon-node/test/e2e/network/onWorker/dataSerialization.test.ts
@@ -118,6 +118,9 @@ describe("data serialization through worker boundary", () => {
     unsubscribeGossipCoreTopics: [],
     connectToPeer: [peerId, ["/ip4/1.2.3.4/tcp/13000"]],
     disconnectPeer: [peerId],
+    addDirectPeer: ["/ip4/1.2.3.4/tcp/13000/p2p/" + peerId],
+    removeDirectPeer: [peerId],
+    getDirectPeers: [],
     dumpPeers: [],
     dumpPeer: [peerId],
     dumpPeerScoreStats: [],
@@ -207,6 +210,9 @@ describe("data serialization through worker boundary", () => {
     writeDiscv5Profile: "",
     setAdvertisedGroupCount: null,
     setTargetGroupCount: null,
+    addDirectPeer: peerId,
+    removeDirectPeer: true,
+    getDirectPeers: [peerId],
   };
 
   type TestCase = {id: string; data: unknown; shouldFail?: boolean};