Speaking at the JNS International Policy Summit in Jerusalem, Bennett said the initiative was launched during his premiership between 2021 and 2022 and involved efforts to acquire and secretly transfer tens of thousands of Starlink terminals into Iran.

Bennett said the objective was to provide protesters with an alternative communications network capable of functioning during government-imposed internet blackouts and to strengthen opposition movements challenging Iran’s ruling establishment.

“I initiated a process of acquiring and smuggling into Iran tens of thousands of Starlink receptors that would allow continuity of the Internet and social networks,” Bennett said.

Starlink, a satellite internet service operated by the U.S. aerospace company SpaceX, provides broadband connectivity through a constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites. The service is not officially licensed in Iran, although SpaceX founder Elon Musk has previously stated that Starlink services are active within the country.

Iranian authorities have repeatedly accused Israel and the United States of facilitating unauthorized satellite internet access to undermine national security and support dissent.

Bennett said the operation was intended to create a communications infrastructure that could be used during periods of civil unrest. He criticized the current Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for failing to continue the initiative after he left office.

“Unfortunately, the current incompetent Israeli government stopped doing that,” Bennett said. “And when the protest happened, that infrastructure was not there.”

Netanyahu’s office did not immediately comment on Bennett’s remarks. SpaceX was not immediately available for comment outside normal U.S. business hours.

Iran has periodically restricted internet access during episodes of political unrest and security crises. Authorities imposed extensive communications restrictions during nationwide protests earlier this year and throughout the conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States that began in February.

Satellite-based communication systems have become increasingly important for activists and civilians in regions where governments restrict access to digital networks. Previous reports indicated that some Iranians relied on Starlink connectivity during internet shutdowns.

Bennett, who leads a right-wing political party and is considered a potential challenger to Netanyahu in Israel’s next national election, also outlined a broader strategy for confronting Iran if he returns to office.

He said Israel should continue efforts to weaken the Iranian government through measures including economic pressure, industrial disruption and other forms of non-military action aimed at undermining Tehran’s capabilities and influence.

The remarks come amid heightened tensions between Israel and Iran following months of military confrontation, diplomatic negotiations and regional security concerns that have reshaped Middle Eastern geopolitics.

The four-member crew NASA astronauts Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas, alongside European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano will not land on the lunar surface but will conduct orbital operations and technical demonstrations designed to support future Moon landings.

The mission will focus on testing spacecraft docking procedures involving the Orion capsule and two separate lunar landers, a critical capability for upcoming deep space operations under NASA’s Artemis program.

NASA said the Artemis III mission builds on the success of Artemis II, which recently completed a record-breaking lunar flyby that surpassed the distance benchmark set by Apollo 13.

“To the Artemis III crew, we wish you Godspeed on the journey ahead,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said during the announcement.

Mission specialist Andre Douglas said the selection marked an emotional milestone, describing his reaction as overwhelming, while commander Randy Bresnik emphasized the crew’s readiness to undertake the mission.

NASA’s Artemis program aims to return astronauts to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo era of the 1970s. The agency has also adjusted its timeline to accelerate preparations for a future landing, with a crewed lunar surface mission now targeted for 2028.

The program relies heavily on commercial partnerships, with SpaceX and Blue Origin competing to develop lunar landers. NASA officials said recent setbacks, including a Blue Origin rocket failure during a ground test in Florida, are being treated as learning opportunities, with confidence that development timelines remain on track.

NASA officials also said the broader Artemis initiative is intended to lay the groundwork for a sustained lunar presence, including the potential development of a future Moon base that could support eventual human missions to Mars.

Lawyers representing X Corp. acknowledged in Federal Court that the company contravened Australia’s Online Safety Act after regulators found the platform had failed to adequately respond to a formal request seeking details on its child protection and anti-exploitation processes.

“The respondent admits that it contravened the Act,” Christopher Tran, counsel for the eSafety Commissioner, told the court, adding that the company remained in noncompliance for 38 days.

The case stemmed from a A$610,500 ($437,000) penalty issued in October 2023 against the company formerly known as Twitter after regulators said it provided insufficient responses to approximately 25 questions concerning its systems for detecting and preventing child exploitation material online.

X initially challenged the fine, arguing the company’s corporate identity had changed following Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of Twitter in 2022. Australia’s eSafety Commissioner later launched separate proceedings to recover the unpaid penalty.

Federal Court Judge Michael Wheelahan increased the amount payable to A$650,000 and ordered X to pay an additional A$100,000 toward the regulator’s legal costs.

The ruling marks another legal setback for Musk’s platform in Australia, where the billionaire entrepreneur and the eSafety Commissioner have repeatedly clashed over content moderation, online harms and regulatory oversight.

X lawyer Perry Herzfeld described the matter as relating to “historic issues” surrounding the timing of information supplied to authorities during what he characterized as a period of operational transition within the company.

“The contravening conduct took place during a period of change and transition for the company,” Herzfeld said during proceedings.Tran acknowledged the regulator had not identified direct harm resulting from the delayed disclosures but argued that failure to provide information impeded the regulator’s ability to carry out statutory responsibilities under the Online Safety Act.

The dispute also represented one of the remaining unresolved regulatory matters for X following its integration earlier this year into Musk’s broader technology conglomerate, SpaceX, ahead of a planned public offering.

The three-week trial in federal court in Oakland focused on allegations by Musk that OpenAI abandoned its founding nonprofit mission in pursuit of commercial expansion and investor profits after launching the chatbot ChatGPT in 2022.

Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI who left the organization in 2018, argued that Altman and co-founder Greg Brockman improperly redirected a company originally established to develop artificial intelligence for the public good into a private enterprise valued at an estimated $850 billion.

The lawsuit centers on approximately $38 million in donations Musk said he contributed to sustain OpenAI as a nonprofit research laboratory. His legal team argued during closing statements that the company violated commitments made during its formation by pursuing a for-profit structure and deep commercial partnerships.

“A non-profit devoted to the safe development of artificial intelligence, open sourced as practical, for the benefit of humanity,” Musk attorney Steven Molo told jurors in closing arguments, questioning the credibility of OpenAI leadership.

OpenAI attorney Sarah Eddy rejected those claims and challenged Musk’s account of events, arguing that witness testimony and internal communications contradicted key elements of his case.

Jurors are first expected to determine whether Musk filed the lawsuit within the applicable legal time limit after his final contribution to OpenAI in 2020. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said the jury’s finding on that issue would be advisory but indicated she was likely to follow its recommendation.

If the case proceeds beyond the statute-of-limitations question, jurors and the court will consider whether OpenAI executives misused Musk’s contributions and breached promises tied to the organization’s nonprofit status.

Musk is seeking an order requiring OpenAI to return to a nonprofit structure, a move that could disrupt the company’s planned public offering and complicate relationships with major investors including microsoft, amazon and softbank, which have collectively committed billions of dollars to the company.

The jury will also examine whether Microsoft, OpenAI’s largest outside backer with roughly $13 billion committed, knowingly supported the company’s transition away from its original nonprofit framework.
The proceedings also revisited Altman’s brief ouster from OpenAI in November 2023, when board members removed him over concerns related to transparency and management practices before reinstating him days later following pressure from employees and investors.

Musk has since expanded his own artificial intelligence ambitions through x.ai⁠ while continuing AI development efforts linked to spacex.

The satellite, developed under GalaxEye’s Mission Drishti program, was launched aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, carrying what industry officials described as one of India’s most advanced private Earth-imaging systems into orbit.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the launch, calling it “a major achievement” in India’s space journey and praising it as evidence of innovation-driven nation-building.“The successful launch of the world’s first OptoSAR satellite and the largest privately built satellite in India is a testament to our youth’s passion for innovation and nation-building,” Modi said in a social media post.

The spacecraft combines optical imaging with synthetic aperture radar (SAR), allowing it to capture high-resolution images in daylight and clear conditions while also using radar pulses to observe terrain through clouds, smoke and darkness.

This hybrid system is expected to improve reliability in Earth observation by enabling continuous monitoring regardless of weather or time of day, making it valuable for defense, border monitoring, agriculture, disaster management and infrastructure planning.

The satellite is expected to transmit its first observation data within the next few weeks, according to the company.Lt. Gen. A.K. Bhatt (Retd.), director general of the Indian Space Association, said the launch sets “a new benchmark for India’s private space sector.”

“It serves as a definitive proof-of-concept for India’s private space sector reforms and signals a transition from small-scale testing to sovereign, all-weather surveillance capabilities critical for national security and disaster response,” he said.

India has been working to expand private participation in its space economy as part of a broader strategy to raise its current 2% share of the estimated $450 billion global space market to nearly 8% by 2033.The country had more than 300 active space startups in 2025 across launch systems, satellite manufacturing, communications, propulsion, electronics and data analytics, reflecting rapid growth since the liberalization of the sector.

Bhatt said GalaxEye had joined a small group of global players capable of integrating optical and SAR systems on a single platform.“What stands out is not just the technology, but its broader impact on how downstream applications will increasingly define value in the space economy, particularly in Earth observation, where timely, decision-grade insights are critical,” he said.

The launch underscores India’s efforts to shift from government-led missions to a broader ecosystem where private companies play a central role in strategic and commercial space operations.

SpaceX has presented NASA with a simplified and faster mission strategy for its Starship lunar lander, promising improved safety, quicker timelines, and a stronger pathway toward America’s return to the Moon — marking a new phase in human space exploration and innovation.

SpaceX has revealed a new and simplified version of its Starship mission proposal to NASA, designed to accelerate the timeline for returning astronauts to the Moon.

The announcement comes at a time when global interest in lunar exploration is intensifying, and the United States is determined to maintain its leadership in space innovation.

According to SpaceX, the revised plan focuses on operational efficiency, improved crew safety, and reduced complexity without compromising mission success.

The company said it has been collaborating closely with NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon before the end of the decade.

The Starship spacecraft, known for its fully reusable design, is central to SpaceX’s broader vision of making space travel more accessible and cost-effective.

By simplifying the mission architecture, SpaceX intends to streamline critical elements such as refueling operations, launch sequences, and lunar landing procedures. This is expected to minimize risks and cut down the preparation time between test flights and human missions.

In its recent update, SpaceX emphasized that the simplified plan would help accelerate crewed missions while maintaining high safety standards.

The company noted that every adjustment has been made after thorough analysis and feedback from NASA engineers. This new approach, it said, aligns perfectly with NASA’s goal of ensuring both speed and safety in its lunar program.

The proposal comes as global competition in lunar exploration intensifies. China, which has made major strides in its space program, is reportedly preparing its own crewed lunar mission later this decade.

By optimizing its Starship program, SpaceX and NASA aim to ensure that the United States remains at the forefront of space exploration and lunar development.

SpaceX has already made significant progress with the Starship vehicle, conducting a series of high-altitude flight tests and improvements to its Super Heavy booster.

These advances have provided valuable data about the rocket’s reusability, aerodynamic performance, and precision landing capabilities. The company believes these innovations will play a crucial role in making lunar travel both routine and reliable.

The simplified mission plan also places strong emphasis on sustainability. SpaceX aims to leverage its reusable Starship system not just for the Artemis missions but also for future deep-space exploration, including potential crewed missions to Mars.

The company’s engineers say that simplifying lunar operations now will help establish a foundation for longer and more complex missions in the future.

NASA officials have praised SpaceX’s commitment to collaboration and innovation. The agency has repeatedly highlighted the importance of working with private partners to achieve its long-term goals in space exploration.

The new Starship proposal, if approved, could shorten the timeline for the first crewed lunar landing under the Artemis program, originally scheduled for later this decade.

Industry experts believe the plan could redefine the next era of spaceflight by combining NASA’s scientific rigor with SpaceX’s rapid development model.

The collaboration represents a unique blend of government oversight and private sector ingenuity, setting the stage for faster and more flexible missions beyond Earth’s orbit.

SpaceX’s proposal also comes amid growing public enthusiasm for space travel and exploration. With renewed interest in lunar science, resource utilization, and technology development, the Moon is once again becoming a gateway to broader interplanetary ambitions.

The company hopes its simplified approach will not only advance American space leadership but also inspire a new generation of scientists and engineers.

In the coming months, NASA is expected to review SpaceX’s updated Starship plan and assess its feasibility for upcoming Artemis missions.

If accepted, the proposal could mark a turning point in modern space exploration — one that emphasizes efficiency, collaboration, and sustainability as humanity takes its next giant leap toward the stars.

SpaceX remains confident that its innovations will help make lunar missions more practical and cost-effective, paving the way for humanity’s long-term presence beyond Earth.

With a clearer roadmap and simplified architecture, the dream of returning to the Moon — and eventually reaching Mars — appears closer than ever.