Biden and Trump Administrations Repeatedly Asked SpaceX to Switch Starlink On and Off, Reuters Reports
Six former senior U.S. officials told Reuters that both administrations asked SpaceX to turn its satellite internet service on or off in Ukraine and the Middle East, including requests to cut off Iran-linked groups and to expand access in Iran and Ukraine.
Reuters reported Saturday that the Biden and Trump administrations each asked SpaceX several times to turn its Starlink satellite internet service on or off in Ukraine and the Middle East, according to six former senior U.S. officials familiar with the matter.
Under President Joe Biden, the requests included switching off service to keep Iranian proxy militias in Yemen and Lebanon from using Starlink to communicate, and switching it on to give internet access inside Iran and to support Ukraine’s military, four of the former officials told Reuters.
President Donald Trump’s administration made a similar request, asking SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk to make the service available in Iran after U.S.-Israeli strikes in 2025 and 2026, in hopes it would give anti-government protesters internet access and a way to communicate, a former senior Trump official and a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
All of the people who spoke to Reuters did so on condition of anonymity, and Reuters said the earlier requests are being reported for the first time.
Requests under two administrations
Biden officials shared intelligence with SpaceX showing that diverted Starlink terminals had reached the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon through intermediaries, Reuters reported. In October 2023, during fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, and again in 2024 during a U.S. air campaign against the Houthis, the administration asked SpaceX to identify the terminals and shut them off. At least some of the terminals were deactivated, two of the officials said.
Soon after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Biden officials pushed SpaceX to expand Starlink use for Ukraine’s military, two former officials said. In a separate case, the Biden administration asked SpaceX to turn on Starlink in Iran during protests that began in September 2022 after the death of Mahsa Amini, and terminals were moved into the country with the administration’s help, one former official said.
The Trump administration discussed getting Starlink terminals into Iran and activating them after the June 2025 and February 2026 strikes, but neither the administration nor SpaceX has publicly confirmed that those terminals were turned on, Reuters reported. The Wall Street Journal reported in February that the U.S. government had sent thousands of Starlink terminals into Iran.
Ukraine says speeds have returned
The report arrived during a dispute over Ukraine’s own access to Starlink and its military version, Starshield. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said last week that Ukraine’s access had been intentionally limited, interfering with the work of the country’s military drones. Reuters has reported that the order to throttle Starshield came from inside the White House, and the Trump administration has acknowledged the slowdown without saying whether it gave the order.
On Saturday, Ukraine’s defense minister, Evhenii Khmara, said Starlink and Starshield were operating again at speeds over 400 kilometers per hour and that the connection was stable. The ministry did not say whether service had been fully restored. The restrictions, first reported on October 14, had reduced connection speeds to about 160 kilometers per hour or less, according to sources cited by Reuters, and Ukrainian officials said they undermined Ukraine’s ability to intercept Russian attack drones and disrupted frontline communications.
Trump said Friday that he had not spoken with Musk about Starlink access for Ukraine and that, if a problem remained, he would get it straightened out. Musk said in a social media post earlier in the week that Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the U.S. government and that any limits on speed or use are decided by the U.S. military and ultimately by the president.
Democratic Representative Jason Crow called Friday for clarity about the changes, saying, “Unelected billionaires and private corporations should not decide what is in the best interest of America’s national security.” Reuters also reported that some officials in Europe argue Europe must develop its own military satellite communications capabilities, because no viable short-term alternative currently exists.
SpaceX did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. The White House referred Reuters to Trump’s remarks on Friday.
Reporting based on coverage by Reuters.
