Iran Turns Internet Cables into Hostage Takers in the Strait of Hormuz
Iran is moving to seize control of seven critical undersea internet cables running through the Strait of Hormuz, forcing foreign operators to beg for permits, cough up transit fees, and submit to Iranian law while handing all maintenance over to local regime-tied firms.
These cables carry 15 to 20 percent of global internet and financial traffic linking Europe, the Gulf, and Asia. Gulf states depend on them for over 90 percent of their connectivity, banking, and cloud services. Iran, by contrast, routes less than 40 percent through them and leans on overland backups through Turkey.
This latest power play follows repeated threats from the IRGC to simply cut the cables amid rising tensions. Tehran has long treated the strait as its personal toll booth for oil shipments. Now it is extending that pirate mentality to the digital world, weaponizing data flows the same way it has menaced energy routes.
The regime knows exactly what it is doing: creating a new digital chokepoint to blackmail the region and the West. While Gulf economies hang in the balance, Iran holds the leverage with minimal risk to itself. This is not governance. It is economic terrorism dressed up as sovereignty.