Undersea Cables in Strait of Hormuz Face New Threats
The Revolutionary Guards target subsea infrastructure, posing risks to the minor portion of global traffic transiting the area.
Updated on Oct. 21, 2026 in Cybersecurity
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The Revolutionary Guards recently threatened to target undersea internet infrastructure within the Strait of Hormuz. The warning comes amid heightened regional tensions and marks a shift in rhetoric regarding civilian telecommunications assets.
Why it matters
While the Strait accounts for less than one percent of global bandwidth, the threat highlights the vulnerability of critical subsea nodes. These segments remain protected under international law, yet recent history suggests high-traffic corridors face increasing disruption risks.
Five submarine cable segments run through Omani waters in the Strait, including the AAE-1, FALCON, and Gulf Bridge International systems. These cables facilitate connectivity for regional centers, though they represent a minor portion of international traffic compared to primary transcontinental routes.
The players
Revolutionary Guards
An Iranian military branch that oversees strategic regional infrastructure and defensive operations.
Yadollah Javani
A high-ranking official within the Revolutionary Guards who issued the statement regarding regional communications.
The details
Submarine cables consist of fiber-optic strands protected by layers of insulation and steel armor, typically laid on the ocean floor to connect data centers across continents. Telecommunications operators mitigate physical disruptions by maintaining a mesh of redundant terrestrial and subsea routes, allowing for automatic rerouting when a single link is severed. International humanitarian law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea explicitly protect this civilian infrastructure from intentional interference during conflict.
Timeline
February 2024: Three cables were damaged in the Red Sea.
March 2024: Four cables were damaged off the coast of West Africa.
September 2025: Four cables were damaged in the Red Sea.
October 21, 2026: Yadollah Javani issued a threat regarding internet cables.
The Tech Race
The threat follows a pattern established by the 2024 and 2025 Red Sea undersea cable damage events where infrastructure was targeted during regional instability. Analysts monitor these threats against the historical resilience of the global submarine network, which previously sustained damage to four cables off the West African coast in March 2024.
International internet traffic between Europe and East Asia primarily relies on Red Sea corridors, meaning the Strait of Hormuz carries a minimal share of global data. Operators maintain backup capacity and redundant routes, so users are unlikely to face immediate service disruptions from these specific threats.
The takeaway
The threat underscores the ongoing geopolitical risk to civilian undersea infrastructure in contested waters. Observers should track the security status of the five active cable segments in the Strait of Hormuz for any unauthorized maritime activity or service outages.
Further reading
For broader analysis on physical network security, see our coverage in Cybersecurity.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Iranintl.
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