Iran calls undersea internet cables in the Strait of Hormuz 'legitimate targets'

What happened

General Hossein Mohebbi, a spokesman for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said at an event this week that seven major fiber cables running beneath the Strait of Hormuz are "legitimate new targets." According to The Telegraph, Mohebbi said "all internet and commercial data" passes through them.

IRGC political deputy General Yadollah Javani has since suggested that if Iranian infrastructure is attacked, Iran would respond by targeting the cables.

How credible is the threat?

Alesso Patalano, a professor of war and strategy at King's College London, said the threat is "not only 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 cited the 2022 Nord Stream 2 pipeline attack as a comparable example.

According to the report, Iran has considered cutting the cables several times since the war began but has so far avoided doing so, because it would mean "declaring war on the whole world."

Global data traffic at risk

One of the cables referenced by the IRGC appears to match the Asia-Africa-Europe-1 cable, which stretches from Asia to Europe through Oman, the UAE and Qatar. Both the UAE and Qatar share maritime borders with Iran.

Interest in undersea infrastructure is not limited to Iran: earlier this year, a Russian ship was chased from British waters by the Royal Navy after loitering for 14 hours less than a mile from five cables connecting the UK with Spain, Portugal, Canada and the US.