Satellite firm says it's indefinitely withholding Iran war images at US request
The Times of Israel • • general
Key Points:
- Planet Labs will indefinitely withhold satellite imagery of Iran and the Middle East conflict region following a US government request, expanding on a previous 14-day delay to prevent adversaries from using the images against the US and its allies.
- The restriction applies to imagery dating back to March 9 and is expected to remain until the conflict ends, which began after US and Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28 and subsequent Iranian retaliations.
- Planet Labs will implement a "managed distribution" system, releasing images only for urgent, mission-critical needs or public interest cases to balance stakeholder needs amid the conflict.
- Other commercial satellite imagery providers like Vantor (formerly Maxar Technologies) have implemented their own access controls in the Middle East but have not been directly contacted by the US government regarding this specific request.
- The Pentagon declined to comment on intelligence matters, and some providers like BlackSky Technology did not respond to inquiries about their policies on imagery distribution during the conflict.
