Overview
- Planet Labs, which notified customers Saturday, said it will withhold high‑resolution images of Iran and the wider conflict zone retroactive to March 9 and expects the hold to last until the war ends.
- The U.S. government asked commercial providers to implement an indefinite withhold, expanding Planet’s earlier delays that moved from 96 hours to 14 days before this blackout.
- The restricted area covers all of Iran and designated conflict zones in the Middle East, including Gulf states, where images had been used to track strikes and damage.
- Planet is moving to a managed distribution model that allows limited releases only for urgent, mission‑critical needs or cases judged to be in the public interest.
- Other firms are taking varied approaches, with Vantor saying it was not contacted by the U.S. but has applied access limits in parts of the region, while the Pentagon declined comment and BlackSky did not respond.