Planet Labs Halts Iran Imagery, Tensions Rise

0:00On April 6th, Planet Labs, that California satellite company, just dropped word, they're putting an indefinite freeze on public images from Iran, nearby Middle East spots. They're doing it to follow a request straight from the Trump administration, switching to a controlled release only for urgent needs or public good. Earlier this week, on April 4th, they sent out an email laying it all out. This hold kicks in retroactively from March 9th, building on a prior 14-day delay aimed at keeping enemies from using the picks to hit U.S. Allies, journalists have leaned hard on these images to track strikes and gauge damage in the conflict that kicked off February 28th. Without open access, verifying what's happening on the ground gets way tougher for everyone watching. Meanwhile, President Trump just pushed back his deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, that key shipping lane for oil and supplies, too. April 7th, he's warning of more infrastructure hits, calling it power plan day if they don't comply.

1:00Tensions stay sky high as this imagery blackout rolls on until the fighting cools, leaving us piecing together the puzzle from whatever trickles out.