Satellite tv for pc agency says it is indefinitely withholding Iran battle pictures at US request

[ad_1] WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Satellite tv for pc imaging agency Planet Labs mentioned on Saturday it would indefinitely withhold visuals of Iran and the area of battle within the Center East to adjust to a request from the US authorities.

California-based Planet Labs introduced the choice in an e-mail to prospects and mentioned the US authorities had requested all satellite tv for pc imagery suppliers to indefinitely withhold pictures of the battle area.

The restriction expands upon a 14-day delay on imagery of the Center East that Planet Labs imposed final month, a transfer the agency mentioned was meant to forestall adversaries from utilizing it to assault the US and its allies.

Planet Labs mentioned it would withhold imagery relationship again to March 9 and that it expects the coverage to stay in impact till the battle ends.

The battle started when the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, and the battle unfold within the area when Tehran responded by launching its personal assaults on Israel and US bases in Gulf states, together with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain

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By signing up, you comply with the terms Navy makes use of of satellite tv for pc expertise embrace goal identification, weapons steering, missile monitoring and communications. Some house specialists say Iran may very well be accessing business imagery, together with photos obtained through US adversaries. Satellite tv for pc pictures additionally assist journalists and academicians learning hard-to-reach locations.

This satellite tv for pc picture from Planet Labs PBC exhibits fires burning on ships after a US navy assault on a port in Bandar Abbas, Iran, March 2, 2026. (Planet Labs PBC through AP) Planet Labs, which operates a big fleet of Earth-imaging satellites and sells often up to date pictures to governments, corporations and media, didn't reply to a request for additional remark.

The Pentagon mentioned it doesn't touch upon intelligence-related issues.

Planet Labs mentioned in its e-mail to prospects that it will change to a “managed distribution of pictures” deemed to not pose a threat to security. Beneath a brand new system, Planet Labs will launch imagery on a case-by-case foundation for pressing, mission-critical necessities or within the public curiosity.

“These are extraordinary circumstances, and we're doing all we are able to to steadiness the wants of all our stakeholders,” the agency mentioned.

This satellite tv for pc picture from Planet Labs PBC exhibits Iran’s Isfahan Nuclear Expertise Middle outdoors of Isfahan, Iran, on December 7, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC through AP) One business supplier, Vantor, previously Maxar Applied sciences, informed Reuters that it was not contacted by the US authorities. Vantor for years has reserved the best to “implement enhanced entry controls throughout occasions of geopolitical battle” and at the moment has utilized them for elements of the Center East, an organization spokesperson mentioned in a press release.

These controls can embrace limits on who can request new pictures or purchase present photos of areas the place the US navy and its allies are “actively working,” and areas “actively focused by adversaries,” the spokesperson mentioned.

One different business supplier contacted by Reuters, BlackSky Expertise, didn't instantly return a request for remark.

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