Iran has drawn up detailed plans to target undersea communications cables in the Gulf if the United States and Israel attack Iran again, two senior Iranian security officials told Reuters. The revelation, reported on October 23, 2026, raises the stakes in an already tense standoff, putting the region's digital lifelines in the middle of a possible renewed conflict.
What Iranian officials are saying
The two officials, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, gave few details about how or where any attack would be carried out. But one said Iran would aim to prevent repairs after any attack, to prolong disruption 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" and saying Iran had full access to the cables and could easily destroy them.
The warnings follow public statements by Iranian officials that undersea cables could become targets if diplomacy with Washington collapses. Yadollah Javani, the deputy head of political affairs for Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), said on Wednesday, October 21, that Iran could target seven major internet cables beneath the Strait of Hormuz if Iranian infrastructure came under attack.
How much damage could it do?
Undersea cables carry around 99 percent of global internet traffic, according to the International Telecommunication Union, a United Nations agency. But experts quoted by Reuters cautioned against overstating the global impact: less than 1 percent of international bandwidth passes through the Strait of Hormuz, said Alan Mauldin, research director at telecommunications research firm TeleGeography.
The consequences could still be significant for Gulf countries, where multiple cable cuts could slow internet services and disrupt financial transactions, e-commerce and cloud computing. Repairing damaged cables during a conflict could also prove difficult because of security risks, higher insurance costs and restrictions on access to territorial waters. The scale of any disruption would depend on whether operators could redirect traffic through alternative routes.
What others are saying
The US Department of State and Iran's Foreign Ministry did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment on the officials' remarks, and there was no immediate comment from Gulf states, according to the report. The Strait of Hormuz separates Iran and Oman and links the Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, making it one of the world's most strategically sensitive waterways for both energy and data.
The cable threat comes against the backdrop of an earlier round of fighting between Iran, the United States and Israel, and amid warnings from Tehran that any renewed attack would be met without restraint. Whether the plans are a genuine military contingency, a deterrent message, or both, they signal that the next conflict in the region, if it comes, may not be fought only with missiles and ships. It could also be fought over the cables that carry the world's conversations.
Watch: Search YouTube for video coverage of Iran's reported plans to target Gulf undersea cables.
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Sources: Reuters, Channel News Asia (Reuters), The Daily Pioneer.