Biden and Trump administrations earlier asked SpaceX to enable or disable Starlink – media
The administrations of current U.S. President Donald Trump and his predecessor, Joseph Biden, on several occasions requested that Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX, enable or disable the Starlink satellite communication service in various countries—long before access was restricted for the Ukrainian military in October of this year.
Throughout the administrations of both former U.S. Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump, there were repeated requests made to SpaceX regarding the activation and deactivation of the Starlink satellite communication service in various countries. Reuters reported this information based on sources close to the former officials, who preferred to remain anonymous.
The administration under Biden asked SpaceX to disable the service to prevent Iranian proxy militias in Yemen and Lebanon from using it for communication purposes. They also requested that the service be activated in Iran to support internal communications and internet access for anti-government protesters after US-Israeli strikes.
Similarly, during the Trump administration, Musk was asked to make the service available in Iran for the same reasons. According to the sources, the Biden administration relied on SpaceX to both hinder US adversaries by cutting the service and support allies by expanding Starlink's availability. The administration shared intelligence with SpaceX indicating that the Houthis and Hezbollah were utilizing diverted Starlink terminals, which were provided through intermediaries, leading to the deactivation of some terminals.
Shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Biden administration urged SpaceX to expand the Ukrainian military's use of Starlink. However, Musk took action to limit Ukraine's access to the network by restricting Starlink coverage in areas Ukraine was trying to liberate from Russian occupation. Musk also rejected a request from Ukraine in 2022 to activate its satellite network in Sevastopol.
SpaceX stated that it works closely with US government agencies to secure export authorizations and safeguard technology for US national security objectives and foreign policy goals.
Written by urgent.news from Interfax-Ukraine's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
