EU grants US request to delay release of satellite images over Gulf

PARIS - The European Union has agreed to a US request to delay broadcasting its Copernicus satellite images over the Gulf by 24 hours, according to a decision published in its official journal.

The agreement comes as the United States has resumed its attacks on Iran since July 7, throwing the region back into chaos as Tehran and Washington battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz.

US officials made the request for the delay on satellite to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on May 26.

It covered data from the Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellites over the Gulf.

In a decision dated July 13, the EU Council ruled that it was “necessary” to do so, to ensure the images “are not used by any third State or non-State actor in such a way as to present a threat to the interests of the Union and its Member States in the region or to those of their allies”.

The zone covered by this decision is the Gulf region, where strikes are occurring and where the United States has imposed a naval blockade on Iran. AFP