Iran Uses Strait Of Hormuz Internet Cables for Leverage
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is treating the strait of hormuz internet cables as leverage and a possible revenue source. Major submarine cables through the strait carry 97% of international internet speed, so any new permit barrier or repair delay would ripple far beyond Gulf waters and into the financial systems that depend on those routes.
Asia-Africa-Europe 1 and FALCON
The Asia-Africa-Europe 1 system and the FALCON network snake through the Strait of Hormuz. Those lines carry an estimated $10 trillion in daily financial transactions, which gives Tehran a chokepoint over traffic that reaches banks, cloud services, and cross-border communications in multiple regions.
Tasnim and permit fees
IRGC-linked media outlets have framed the cables as leverage. Tasnim News Agency published articles arguing Iran has been deprived of economic benefits from cables carrying over $10 trillion in transactions daily, while Business Today reports Iran plans to require foreign operators to obtain permits and pay fees for seabed infrastructure.
Repairs under Tehran control
Business Today also reports Tehran would have exclusive control over maintenance and repair operations. That matters because submarine cables break regularly from ship anchors, fishing nets, and earthquakes, and specialized repair ships could not get permits to work in the Red Sea case that took roughly six months to fix instead of the usual weeks.
Gulf states building digital economies around AI and cloud services would face the brunt of any Hormuz disruption. The practical question now is whether foreign operators accept Tehran’s permit-and-fee model, because that is the point where a strategic threat turns into a day-to-day operating cost.
