Internet at risk? Iran wants to tax cables under the Strait of Hormuz

The hypothesis put forward by the Tasnim agency

This would mean collecting billions of dollars and putting a further blackmail weapon on the table. The proposal, the feasibility of which clearly remains to be verified, was put forward by the Tasnim news agency, controlled by the Pasdaran, and would have significant consequences for all sectors that use cloud services, produce data traffic and, as in the case of the Swift system, ensure protected communications such as financial ones. Just remember that the data passing through those cables is used to guarantee essential online services, starting with payments, and also to power government platforms.

A key hub for the internet globally

Cables under the Strait of Hormuz connect data centers in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. They are at the center of a network that places Iran in a strategic position also from this point of view. But the claim to impose taxation still appears to have no legal basis. The submarine cables are owned by international consortia, which would have all the cards in their hands to reject the hypothesis both on a legal and political level. Unauthorized monitoring of these infrastructures, which carry the majority of global internet traffic, would be considered a serious violation of security, as well as international treaties, and a true act of hybrid warfare.

The extreme hypothesis, the weapon of desperation

However, undersea fiber optic cables can also be considered one of the weapons of desperation, in the event that an escalation of the conflict with the United States were to put the Guardians of the Revolution with their backs to the wall. Several times, even in the past, the hypothesis has been raised that Iran could voluntarily damage these infrastructures. It would be a pretty easy action with a huge return when you consider the potential damage. Also because, it must be remembered, consumer connectivity is one thing, which satellite infrastructures can guarantee in any case, and data traffic is another. An example? When Amazon Web Services sites in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain were damaged by Iranian drones, individual users remained online but the cloud collapsed.