The European Union has imposed a 24-hour restriction on some Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellite imagery covering the Gulf of Oman, departing from the program’s usual free-access policy.
Washington submitted a formal diplomatic request in late May that triggered the restriction under the EU’s Space Threat Response Architecture. US officials grew concerned that unencumbered satellite views of the Strait of Hormuz shipping corridor could be exploited amid active military operations against Iran.
Council President Kaja Kallas signed a decision on July 13 instructing the European Commission to block certain imagery across a defined region of the Gulf of Oman. The coordinates trace the sea lanes feeding into the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage that handles a substantial share of global petroleum shipments.
European Commission officials described the measure as a standard security precaution. A spokesperson noted that Copernicus policy already includes security exceptions and that comparable restrictions are common across satellite operators worldwide.
US commercial imagery firms Planet and Vantor, the business formerly known as Maxar, had already curtailed their own coverage of the Gulf region. Planet adopted a 96-hour delay in March when direct conflict erupted and subsequently moved to indefinite withholding of new captures.
Several European Earth observation companies had stepped in after US providers pulled back. One industry executive told SpaceNews in May that Copernicus had remained a reliable independent source. That advantage has now eroded.
The formal decision leaves several details unspecified including the exact start date of the restriction and its expiration timeline.
