Tehran, 24 October. Iran has drawn up a plan to attack undersea communications cables in the Persian Gulf in the event of new US and Israeli strikes and intends to obstruct their repair to prolong disruptions to communications and the internet, Reuters writes, as told by two senior Iranian security officials.
The agency's sources did not say where or how Tehran intends to carry out the attacks. Earlier, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that it could attack seven major internet cables beneath the Strait of Hormuz if Iranian infrastructure were struck.
Alan Mauldin, research director at the analytics firm TeleGeography, explained that less than 1% of international internet traffic passes through the Strait of Hormuz, so the global consequences of such attacks could be limited. The report gives no assessment of the consequences for individual Gulf states.
The report came a day after Donald Trump raised the possibility of a new operation against Iran and the IRGC said two tankers had struck mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
What it means: Beyond oil and shipping, Iran is threatening the region's communications: undersea cables are becoming another lever in its confrontation with the United States and Israel.
Who benefits: Tehran, which gains another deterrent. Telecom operators and Gulf states, which have a reason to build backup traffic routes. There is no official Iranian reaction to the Reuters report.
Background: Undersea cables carry most of the world's internet traffic; one of Reuters' sources said Iran also intends to obstruct repairs to damaged lines.
We have also reported that Brent rose above $117 as the IRGC reported mines in Hormuz.
