Iran plans to cut Gulf undersea cables if war resumes

Two senior Iranian security officials said Tehran has drafted elaborate strategies to target undersea communications cables in the Gulf should the US and Israel launch fresh military strikes against Iran.

Their disclosures follow warnings from Iranian officials stating that undersea cables across the region could become targets during a renewed conflict if diplomatic channels with Washington collapse.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the two Iranian security officials offered minimal operational specifics and refrained from identifying the exact locations or methods Tehran would employ to execute the strikes.

However, one official explained that Iran intends to block repair efforts following any strike, thereby extending disruptions to communications, including internet connections.

“If Iran is attacked, there will be no more red lines ... from undersea cables to military bases, including covert ones,” one of the officials warned.

The official cautioned Washington against trying to “play with fire,” asserting that Iran maintains complete access to the undersea cables and possesses the capability to easily destroy them.

On Wednesday, Yadollah Javani, the deputy head of political affairs for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), declared that Iran could target seven major internet cables running beneath the Strait of Hormuz if adversaries strike Iranian infrastructure.

According to the International Telecommunication Union, a UN agency, undersea cables carry around 99 percent of global internet traffic.

However, Alan Mauldin, research director at the telecommunications research firm TeleGeography, noted that the global fallout from such Iranian attacks might remain limited because less than 1 percent of international bandwidth traverses through the Strait of Hormuz.

The Strait of Hormuz separates Iran and Oman, linking the Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.

Neither the US Department of State nor Iran’s Foreign Ministry responded to Reuters’ requests for comment regarding the statements by the Iranian security officials. Gulf states also offered no immediate response.

These plans to strike undersea cables highlight a firm belief among Iran’s leadership that Tehran must retaliate against any renewed US military campaign with significantly greater force than in past confrontations.

Earlier this month, top security official Mohsen Rezaei warned that a renewed outbreak of conflict could put US-linked digital infrastructure across the Gulf - including data centers and AI facilities - in the crosshairs.

Washington’s Gulf allies have funneled massive investments into this digital infrastructure. The second Iranian security official argued that these regional nations “should hold Washington, not Tehran, responsible for any damage to undersea cables.”

Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran program at the Middle East Institute in Washington, observed that Tehran issued these threats to deter a fresh outbreak of hostilities and pressure Washington by stoking fears among Gulf governments and US companies over their regional investments.

“Tehran wants Gulf states and corporate executives to press (US President Donald) Trump over the risks his policies pose to their investment plans,” Vatanka explained.

Analysts warned that severing multiple cables could severely slow down internet services while interrupting financial transactions, e-commerce, and cloud computing. Mauldin pointed out that the actual severity of the disruption would hinge on how effectively operators reroute traffic and what spare capacity remains available on alternative lines.

Experts emphasized that conducting underwater repairs during active warfare presents severe challenges, with soaring insurance costs and bureaucratic delays in securing entry permits for territorial waters further complicating restoration efforts.

While Tehran has released no public statements indicating plans to target cables in the Red Sea, the waterway could offer a far more consequential target than the Strait of Hormuz, particularly if Iran coordinates with its Houthi allies in Yemen.

Mauldin highlighted that the Red Sea handles data transfers between Europe, East Africa, and Asia, carrying capacity that accounts for roughly 3 percent of global international demand and about 10 percent of inter-regional traffic.

Gulf governments have been directing substantial capital toward technology as part of their strategy to diversify away from oil and establish themselves as global artificial intelligence hubs, thereby deepening their ties with US technology firms.

During the height of military hostilities in March, Iranian strikes directly hit two Amazon Web Services facilities in the UAE while damaging infrastructure adjacent to a facility in Bahrain. The IRGC explicitly named prominent US tech giants - including Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Nvidia - as legitimate military targets.

To enhance network resilience, Gulf states and US technology firms are building additional infrastructure, leveraging land-based connections to provide substitute routes for internet traffic. For instance, Microsoft plans to invest over $400 million by 2030 to expand subsea and terrestrial connectivity throughout the Middle East.

Source: Reuters (adapted)