Informed American sources revealed that the administrations of former President Joe Biden and current President Donald Trump asked businessman Elon Musk to activate or deactivate the "Starlink" service in Ukraine and various other countries.
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The sources said that the requests under Biden included shutting down the service to prevent Iranian-backed groups in Yemen and Lebanon from using Starlink to provide internet access inside Iran and in Ukraine to support its military.
Reuters quoted a former senior Trump administration official as saying that his administration had asked Musk to make the service available in Iran after the recent US-Israeli strikes, hoping to boost anti-government protesters' access to the internet and communications.
The recent controversy over restrictions on Ukraine's use of SpaceX services has raised questions about the nature of the relationship between the US government and Musk, whose company owns vital systems for the US military and Washington's allies.
The requests made by the two administrations demonstrate a close relationship in which US administrations rely to an unprecedented degree on a private sector company to help implement foreign policy.
The recent restrictions on Ukraine, despite it being an ally of the United States, have also raised concerns among officials in Europe, with some seeing a need for Europe to develop its military satellite communications capabilities, as there is no viable alternative in the short term.