Iran threatens Persian Gulf oil and cable strikes if attacked again

Two senior Iranian security officials told Reuters that Tehran has drawn up detailed plans to target undersea communications cables in the Persian Gulf, while security chief Mohsen Rezaei warned that oil, data-centre and AI facilities across as many as seven countries could be struck if the US and Israel attack again. The officials, speaking anonymously, said there would be no more red lines and that Iran would try to prevent repairs to damaged cables; the claims could not be independently verified. The warnings followed statements by IRGC official Yadollah Javani about seven internet cables beneath the Strait of Hormuz.

The Guardian reported that Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's supreme national security council, said Iran would strike oil facilities, undersea cables, data centres and AI facilities across as many as seven countries in the Persian Gulf region in the event of a fresh US-Israeli attack. Mehdi Mohammadi, an adviser to Mohammad Ghalibaf, who led Iran's negotiations with the US to end the conflict between the two countries, said Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed in principle on an attack but could not guarantee a successful outcome, and described the next conflict as an existential threat, according to the newspaper.

Reuters reported that the two security officials spoke on condition of anonymity and gave few details about how or where any attacks would be carried out; one said Iran would try to prevent repairs after any strikes to prolong disruptions to communications, including internet connections. "If Iran is attacked, there will be no more red lines ... from undersea cables to military bases, including covert ones," one official said, warning Washington not to "play with fire". Yadollah Javani, the IRGC's deputy head of political affairs, said Iran could target seven major internet cables beneath the Strait of Hormuz if Iranian infrastructure came under attack. The US State Department and Iran's Foreign Ministry did not respond to requests for comment, and the Arab states of the Persian Gulf had no immediate comment, according to Al-Monitor.

Undersea cables carry around 99% of global internet traffic, according to the International Telecommunication Union, but Alan Mauldin of the research firm TeleGeography said less than 1% of international bandwidth passes through the Strait of Hormuz, so the global impact of any attack could be limited; multiple cuts could still slow internet services and disrupt financial transactions, e-commerce and cloud computing. Alex Vatanka of the Middle East Institute said the threats appeared intended to deter renewed conflict and push the Arab states of the Persian Gulf and US companies to press Trump over risks to their investments. Al-Monitor also reported that Iranian strikes hit two Amazon Web Services facilities in the UAE in March.

Sources