At this conference, as reported by Bloomberg, the Russian delegation pointed out a potential violation of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which requires consideration of the interests of all participants in space activities. Moscow believes that the management of a large number of satellites by a private company "hardly aligns with the long-term interests of sustainable use of outer space." In this regard, Russia proposed to initiate international negotiations to limit the number of new satellites and clarify the rules for the use of commercial satellite frequencies for military purposes.
According to statements from Iranian officials, the "illegal use" of Starlink in Iran threatens the country's sovereignty. Tehran believes that the "commercial satellite mega-constellation" is being used for military purposes without the permission of local authorities. This issue has already been raised by Iran in the International Telecommunication Union, where they discussed rules prohibiting the provision of telecommunications services without the consent of governments.
Currently, SpaceX operates the Starlink satellite constellation, which consists of about 9,600 satellites. As Bloomberg emphasizes, the system is actively used by Ukrainian military forces in their confrontation with Russia. Russian military forces have also used Starlink; however, in early February, Elon Musk disabled communication terminals for the armed forces of the Russian Federation.
Although the use of Starlink in Iran is officially prohibited, about 50,000 terminals have been illegally imported into the country in recent years. During the protests in January, participants in the demonstrations used the network when authorities restricted internet access, as noted by the agency.
