Access to commercial satellite imagery in West Asia is being restricted, hampering open-source intelligence efforts during the ongoing conflict.

ISTANBUL: Monitoring developments in West Asia has become significantly harder as access to vital commercial satellite imagery is being restricted amid the ongoing conflict.

According to a report by The Economist, a researcher noted on March 6 that satellite images of Iran’s coastline accessible a day earlier were no longer available.

Planet Labs, which operates the world’s largest fleet of Earth-imaging satellites, initially imposed a four-day delay on releasing high-resolution images of West Asia after the war began on Feb 28.

The delay was later extended to two weeks, covering the entire period of the war so far and expanding beyond the Gulf states to include US-allied bases and all of Iran.

This move has drawn anger from some customers, such as business intelligence firms, who rely on timely data.

Vantor, formerly known as Maxar, has long withheld images of US bases and restricted photographs of Ukraine since 2022, while Planet has historically been more open.

Planet told customers the move aimed to balance transparency with the need to prevent its imagery from being used to plan attacks on allied and NATO forces or civilians.

The company said the decision was made independently after consultations with intelligence and military experts.

The report noted that the Trump administration has privately pressured satellite firms to limit sensitive imagery, with some analysts suspecting the move also aims to prevent images revealing US and allied losses.

Governments have previously restricted satellite imagery, including a former US ban on high-resolution images of Israel that was lifted in 2020.

Planet also delayed Gaza images in 2023, and the EU reduced the quality of Red Sea satellite images last year during fighting with Yemen’s Houthis.

The report noted that Chinese companies such as Jilin-1 and Siwei are expanding their activities in the satellite imaging sector.

The European firm Airbus, in which the French and German governments hold major stakes, also operates its own Earth-observation satellites.

The main challenge highlighted is maintaining frequent satellite coverage rather than image quality.

With real satellite images delayed or restricted, analysts warned that AI-generated images and misinformation could fill the gap.

Scrutiny of US and Israeli strikes may also become harder as a result of these restrictions.

 The Sun Malaysia