(Credit: Sir Francis Canker Photography)From PCMag by Will McCurdy
Analysts told Reuters that the attacks, if successful, could slow down internet services and disrupt financial transactions, e-commerce and cloud computing.
Iran reportedly has “detailed plans” to attack undersea cables in the Gulf, in the event of future attacks by Israel or the US.
Fiber-optic undersea cables carry the vast majority of the world’s internet bandwidth, and are increasingly under threat during modern conflicts.
Last year, attacks on undersea cables in Eastern Europe’s Baltic Sea, allegedly linked to Russia, disrupted connectivity in Sweden and Latvia, prompting calls from telecom firms for governments to step in.
One of the anonymous security officials who spoke to Reuters said Iran would also aim to prevent repairs after any attacks, to keep disruptions going as long as possible.
The reports come after official threats from Yadollah Javani, the deputy head of political affairs for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), who said Iran may target seven major internet cables beneath the Strait of Hormuz if the country’s infrastructure was attacked.
Alan Mauldin, research director at telecommunications research firm TeleGeography, told Reuters he believes the attacks, if successful, could slow down internet services and disrupt financial transactions, e-commerce and cloud computing.
However, the full impact would depend on how operators rerouted traffic and the capacity available via alternative connections.
Meanwhile, Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran program at the Middle East Institute in Washington, told Reuters that Iran “wants Gulf states and corporate executives to press President Donald Trump over the risks his policies pose to their investment plans.”
Other countries have been shoring up plans to protect their undersea infrastructure.
The UK government recently set out proposals to update its legislation to give it stronger tools to protect its critical undersea infrastructure.
These include tougher penalties on those who damage undersea cables, new requirements on the telecom industry to protect cables from sabotage, and powers for the government to intervene and direct telecom providers where national security is at risk.
The recent Iranian conflict has seen IT infrastructure become as much of a target as conventional military infrastructure.
Iranian strikes on data centers in Bahrain and the UAE in early 2026 are thought to have caused permanent data loss. Meanwhile, the country has also threatened Starlink facilities in the Middle East.
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