Planet Labs PBC, one of the world’s leading commercial satellite imaging companies, has announced a mandatory 96-hour delay on the public release of newly captured imagery covering the Gulf States and adjacent conflict zones. It comes as an unprecedented restriction from a firm that ordinarily makes its data available to clients almost immediately.
The California-based company said all new imagery collected over the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, and neighboring areas would be withheld from its commercial archive for four days before publication. Imagery of Iran was notably excluded. Planet described the move as a temporary measure aimed at preventing adversarial actors from using near-real-time satellite data to endanger allied and NATO-partner personnel and civilians.
As per the company:
The decision followed a week in which Planet’s own imagery had documented significant damage from Iranian missile and drone strikes on US military installations across the Gulf, including the Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain and a billion-dollar early-warning radar system in Qatar. The company did not confirm whether the restriction was implemented at the direct request of US authorities.
The embargo has raised concerns among open-source intelligence researchers, journalists, and humanitarian organisations who had increasingly relied on commercial satellite imagery as terrestrial communications across the region suffered severe disruptions. Defence and intelligence clients with existing contracts are understood to retain uninterrupted access, creating what analysts describe as a stark information asymmetry between classified and public feeds.
Planet had previously imposed a 30-day delay on imagery from Gaza. Vantor, formerly Maxar, has long withheld imagery of US and allied military bases entirely.
The OSINT-focused account The STRATCOM Bureau characterized the restriction as unprecedented, noting it followed consultations between Planet Labs and the US government. Planet indicated the scope may change as the conflict evolves.
