Reuters: US administrations asked Musk for years to switch Starlink on or off

The Biden and Trump administrations repeatedly asked SpaceX to turn its Starlink satellite internet service on or off in certain countries, Reuters reported in an exclusive, citing six former senior U.S. officials. Under Biden, requests reportedly included cutting off Iranian-linked groups in Yemen and Lebanon and activating service in Iran and Ukraine. Under Trump, Washington asked for Starlink to be made available in Iran after U.S.-Israeli strikes in 2025 and 2026 to support anti-government protesters, the sources said.

The report comes amid a dispute over throttled access for Ukraine's military to Starshield, the military version of Starlink. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said access had been intentionally limited, hampering drone operations. Who ordered the slowdown is disputed: Reuters reported the order came from inside the White House, while The Wall Street Journal had earlier named Musk. Musk wrote that "Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government." The White House has acknowledged the slowdown but not said whether it ordered it.

Trump said on Thursday that Musk had restored access, while an adviser to Zelenskiy said no lifting of restrictions had been observed. On Friday, Trump said: "if there is a problem, I'll get it straightened out." Democratic Rep. Jason Crow called for clarity, saying: "Unelected billionaires and private corporations should not decide what is in the best interest of America's national security." SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment.