Iran has described several undersea fiber-optic cables running through the Strait of Hormuz as "legitimate new targets." The remarks came from General Hossein Mohebbi, spokesman for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), at an event this week. According to Mohebbi, "seven large cables pass beneath the Strait of Hormuz, and all internet and commercial data pass through them." The strait has been a hotspot since military action by the United States, Israel and others began in February.
Another IRGC general, Yadollah Javani, the corps' political deputy, has suggested that if Iranian infrastructure is attacked, Iran would respond by targeting the cables. The conflict between Washington and Tehran has cooled but is not over. Mohebbi said a possible "third phase" of the war would bring a "new geography" with "new targets and new weapons."
One cable referenced by the IRGC appears to match the Asia-Africa-Europe-1 cable, roughly 24,200 km (15,050 miles) long, linking Asia and Europe via Oman, the UAE and Qatar. The UAE and Qatar share maritime borders with Iran.
A threat experts consider credible
Experts find the threat plausible. Alesso Patalano, a war and strategy professor at King's College London, told the Telegraph that "not only is it possible, but it's been a rather clear possibility for a long time," adding that divers could go down to the seabed and cut or destroy the cables. He pointed to the 2022 Nord Stream 2 pipeline sabotage near Denmark, attributed to Ukrainian agents, as precedent.
According to further comments reported by the Telegraph, Iran has considered cutting the cables several times since the war began but has held back. An unnamed Iranian spokesman said doing so would mean "declaring war on the whole world and building new enemies," though it would remain "an option if Trump escalates."
Subsea infrastructure has been at the centre of tensions before: earlier this year a vessel loitered for 14 hours less than a mile from five cables linking the UK with Spain, Portugal, Canada and the US.
Why the cables matter
Much of global internet traffic runs through these undersea backbones, so damage could affect financial markets, bank transactions, healthcare and consumer connectivity. The IRGC's warning can be read as a signal that the war could shift from the military sphere to global communications.
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