India froze Starlink approvals over Iran fears, days before SpaceX’s record IPO

India has effectively frozen the approvals Starlink needs to begin commercial operations in the country. Security agencies under India’s Ministry of Home Affairs withheld final clearances after SpaceX allowed Starlink access inside Iran despite not having a licence to operate there, Bloomberg reported. The timing is awkward: SpaceX’s IPO, expected to raise $75 billion at a $1.75 trillion valuation, is days away.

SpaceX obtained an Indian operating licence in 2025 after years of lobbying. Progress was being made toward a launch. But the appearance of Starlink terminals in an active war zone without legal authorisation raised a fundamental question for New Delhi: can any government actually exercise control over Musk’s satellite network?

SpaceX VP of Starlink operations Lauren Dreyer pushed back on the reporting. “Starlink remains in active and productive discussions with the Government of India contrary to misleading stories based upon unsubstantiated claims from anonymous sources,” she wrote on X. Bloomberg did not report that discussions had stopped, only that approvals were paused.

India had set requirements on local data storage and network security that SpaceX was working to meet. The country also explored requiring a joint venture with a local telecom partner to maintain oversight. But the Iran episode suggests that technical compliance and contractual terms may not be enough if SpaceX can unilaterally decide where its network operates.

This is not the first time Starlink’s control structure has caused problems. Ukrainian forces were cut off from the service in 2022 when Musk became concerned about their military progress. Talks with Taiwan have stalled over Musk’s past claims that the island is part of China and SpaceX’s apparent refusal to work with local partners there.

The Pentagon is also navigating Starlink’s pricing during the Iran conflict. And European regulators are moving to reserve spectrum for domestic operators, in part because of concerns about depending on a US-owned network controlled by a single individual with political ties to the Trump administration.

For SpaceX, the India delay is a growth problem at the worst possible moment. Starlink’s customer growth is slowing, according to the company’s IPO disclosures. India, with its 1.4 billion people and large underserved rural population, represents one of the biggest addressable markets left. Every country that pauses or restricts access chips away at the revenue story SpaceX is selling to public market investors this week.

The pattern is becoming clear. Starlink’s value depends on global access, but the same centralised control that makes the network powerful also makes governments nervous. India is the latest country to conclude that the risk of a satellite network it cannot govern may outweigh the connectivity it promises.