Thursday, February 12, 2026 1:00:31 PM

Iranian and Russian diplomats told a United Nations meeting that Elon Musk’s US-based SpaceX Starlink satellite network violates international law and blurs the line between commercial and military technology, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, February 10.

At a UN scientific conference in Vienna, Iran’s representatives said the “illegal operation” of Starlink inside the country violates the republic’s sovereignty and amounts to “unauthorized military use of a commercial mega-constellation.”

Russian representatives suggested SpaceX’s network may violate the 1967 Outer Space Treaty – ratified by the United States and more than 100 other countries – which requires satellite operators to consider the interests of other participants in the space sector.

Large satellite networks run by private companies are “unlikely to be consistent with the interests of the long-term sustainability of space activities and the use of outer space,” the Russian side added.

SpaceX operates a network of roughly 9,600 Starlink satellites.

Ukraine’s armed forces, fighting Russia’s invasion, use the technology extensively.

In early February, at Ukraine’s request, SpaceX took steps to prevent Russia’s military from using the satellite service.

According to Ukraine’s defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov, Starlink terminals used by Russian troops at the front in Ukraine have already been deactivated.

The system became a vital communications channel when authorities shut down the internet nationwide. Starlink is banned in Iran, but roughly 50,000 satellite terminals have been smuggled into the country in recent years, Bloomberg notes.

(C)UAWIRE 2026