Iran Reportedly Considers Targeting Persian Gulf Subsea Internet Cables Amid Regional Escalation
Iranian security officials have reportedly formulated contingency plans to target subsea internet cables in the Persian Gulf if Middle East hostilities escalate further, raising concerns over the security of critical digital infrastructure. The reported threats indicate that potential future conflicts could extend well beyond traditional military bases, petroleum installations, and shipping lanes into the global communications network.
Two anonymous Iranian security officials disclosed the plans, noting that if Iran faces renewed attacks, Tehran would attempt to obstruct the repair of any damaged undersea cables to prolong communication outages. One official warned that retaliation by Iran would no longer be constrained by previous limitations if the United States and Israel launch further strikes. Yadollah Javani, the deputy political head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, previously issued a similar warning, stating that seven primary internet cables resting on the seabed of the Strait of Hormuz could become targets if Iranian infrastructure is attacked.
The Strait of Hormuz, situated between Iran and Oman, connects the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and the Arabian Sea. While the passage is vital for global energy shipments, it also carries essential communications links between Gulf nations and the international internet.
Telecommunications research indicates that an attack restricted to the Strait of Hormuz would likely have a localized impact rather than causing a global internet blackout. According to Alan Mauldin, research director at telecommunications research firm TeleGeography, subsea cables carry approximately 99 percent of international internet traffic, but the international bandwidth passing through the Strait of Hormuz accounts for less than one percent of the total. Nevertheless, if multiple cables were severed simultaneously, regional communications would suffer severe disruptions, leading to network congestion, increased latency, and temporary outages across the Gulf.
Repairing damaged subsea cables presents significant logistical challenges. Specialized vessels, equipment, and technicians are required to locate faults and lift the cables to the surface for splicing. Operating in an active military conflict zone would introduce steep security risks, elevated insurance costs, and permitting delays. While Iranian officials have suggested that hindering repair operations is part of their strategy to extend communication downtime, independent verification of these plans or Iran’s capability to enforce prolonged repair blockades remains unavailable.
Countries in the region have invested heavily in digital economies to reduce their reliance on petroleum revenues, transforming nations like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar into regional hubs for data centers, cloud services, and artificial intelligence infrastructure. These facilities rely on stable, low-latency international connections. Subsea cable disruptions could force enterprises to reroute data, increase operational costs, and impair the availability of cloud platforms and financial transactions.
Broader regional vulnerabilities also remain a concern, particularly in maritime corridors such as the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, where subsea networks connect Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Past damage to Red Sea cables has previously impacted connectivity across the Middle East and South Asia, underscoring the vulnerability of critical chokepoints. In response to these growing risks, Gulf nations and technology firms are expanding investments in alternative land-based routes and network redundancy to protect their digital economies.
