Follow-up: Reuters Exclusive: Biden and Trump Administrations Asked Musk for Years to Switch Starlink On or Off
WASHINGTON — Long before this month's dispute over restricted Ukrainian military access to Elon Musk's satellite communications system, the Biden and Trump administrations several times asked SpaceX to turn its Starlink service on or off in various countries, Reuters reported exclusively on October 24, citing six former senior U.S. officials familiar with the matter. All spoke on condition of anonymity, and Reuters said the previous U.S. requests were being reported for the first time.
Four of the former officials said the Biden-era requests included switching the service off to prevent Iranian proxy militias in Yemen and Lebanon from using Starlink to communicate, and switching it on inside Iran and in Ukraine to support Ukraine's military. A former senior Trump official and a person familiar with the matter told Reuters that the Trump administration asked Musk to make the service available in Iran following U.S.-Israeli strikes in 2025 and 2026, hoping to bolster internet access and communications for anti-government protesters. Reuters said the requests showed how far U.S. administrations rely on a private-sector company to help implement foreign policy, and that the limits on Ukraine, a U.S. ally, had rattled officials in Europe, some of whom argue Europe must develop its own military satellite communications capabilities because
no viable short-term alternative currently exists.
In the latest development in the same dispute, Trump called Musk on October 23 to ask him to lift the Ukraine restrictions; The Wall Street Journal, citing U.S. officials, reported the system was working more normally shortly after the call but had not been fully restored. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on October 23 that Starlink speed had not been restored and that he hoped to talk with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the coming days; Rubio said decisions on Ukraine's Starlink access were up to SpaceX and Musk, not the White House. On October 24, Ukraine's Defense Ministry said speeds were back above 400 kph (see batch item #36).
(GSM, from Reuters' exclusive report and The Wall Street Journal via Reuters)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：SpaceX火箭夜间发射与助推器返回轨迹，资料图。 / A SpaceX rocket launch and booster return at night (file photo).
