Iran Conflict — 2026-04-05

Planet Labs Indefinitely Withholds Iran War Satellite Imagery at US Government Request

Planet Labs announced it will indefinitely withhold satellite imagery of Iran and the broader Middle East conflict zone at the request of the US government, expanding a 14-day delay imposed last month. The restriction applies retroactively to imagery dating back to March 9 and will remain in effect until the conflict ends. Planet Labs switched to managed distribution, releasing imagery case-by-case for mission-critical or public interest needs. Vantor (formerly Maxar Technologies) implemented similar controls independently. The blackout removes a key independent verification tool for assessing damage claims from both sides.

Analysis
The retroactive restriction to March 9 erases the evidentiary record of the war's first two weeks. With both Planet Labs and Vantor now restricted, independent battle damage assessment relies entirely on government claims and Iranian state media, precisely the sources the Pentagon credibility gap story calls into question. This creates an unprecedented information void for open-source analysts and war crimes investigators.

2 sources

Satellite firm Planet Labs to indefinitely withhold Iran war images - Al-Monitor
US satellite firm Planet Labs announces blackout on war on Iran images - Al Jazeera