By: Karim Hammam
Iranian security officials revealed the development of detailed plans to target submarine telecommunications cables in the Gulf region, in the event the country is subjected to a new attack by the United States and Israel. The officials stressed that Tehran will not draw red lines in its responses, pointing out that potential targets could range from submarine cables to military bases, including secret sites.
Threats to Destroy Communications Infrastructure
Iranian officials explained that the goal of these plans is to try to prevent any technical repairs in the event of attacks, which could prolong the disruption of communications and internet services. Officials warned of Iran's ability to access and easily destroy submarine cables, which could cause widespread disruptions in data flow.
Strait of Hormuz and Global Data Security
For his part, the Deputy Commander of the Revolutionary Guards for Political Affairs, Yadollah Javani, stated that Iran may move to target seven main internet cables located beneath the Strait of Hormuz if its infrastructure is attacked. These warnings are of utmost importance given that the International Telecommunication Union of the United Nations indicates that submarine cables are responsible for carrying about 99% of global internet data traffic across the oceans.
Divergence in Global Impact Estimates
Despite the severity of the threats, telecommunications research experts pointed out that there is a divergence in estimating the scale of the potential global impact of such attacks. Alan Mauldin, research director at TeleGeography, explained that the impact might be limited on an international scale, given that less than 1% of global bandwidth passes through the Strait of Hormuz region, which reduces the likelihood of the entire global internet network being paralyzed.
