Russia, Iran accuse Elon Musk's Starlink of violating international law

By Jonathan Tirone

 

Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite constellation violates international law while blurring the line between commercial and military technologies, Iranian and Russian diplomats said at a United Nations meeting. 

 

The “illegal operation” of Starlink in Iran violates the nation’s sovereignty and amounts to “unauthorized military use of a commercial satellite mega-constellation,” read a statement delivered by the Islamic Republic late Monday at a UN scientific meeting in Vienna. 

 

The Kremlin’s delegation suggested SpaceX’s network could be in violation of a provision of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, ratified by the US and more than 100 other countries, requiring satellite operators to take into account the interests of other space actors.

 

 

Having large networks run by private companies “is hardly in line with the interest of the long-term sustainability of outer space activities and use of outer space,” the Russian statement added.

 

The criticism at the meeting of the UN’s Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space shows how Starlink is upending geopolitics as usual. 

 

SpaceX, which operates the network of some 9,600 satellites, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. 

 

The Starlink service has become a key communication link for Ukrainians fighting against Russia’s invasion, as well as Iranian opposition forces that took to the streets last month. 

 

Even though Starlink is technically illegal in Iran, an estimated 50,000 terminals have been smuggled into the country in recent years. Those connections allowed protesters to coordinate activities even as authorities blacked out other forms of communication. 

 

The Vienna meeting isn’t the only UN forum where Iran has taken its fight against SpaceX. Tehran has also argued at the Geneva-based International Telecommunication Union, the UN’s agency for digital technologies, that the network violates rules prohibiting use of telecom services not authorized by national governments.

 

Russia is demanding international negotiations aimed at limiting the number of new satellites, as well as clarification of the military use of satellite frequencies registered for commercial purposes.

 

“The use of mega-constellations is focused in the hands of private companies and this is hardly in line with the interest of the long-terms sustainability of outer space,” according to Russia’s statement. 

 

SpaceX is currently consulting with banks before launching an initial public offering expected to raise as much as $50 billion.