Having choked the world's oil supply by blockading the Strait of Hormuz, Iran is now setting its sights on something even more invisible, and potentially more devastating. Beneath the same narrow waterway that carries one fifth of the world's oil runs a web of subsea cables that carry the internet traffic, banking data, and financial transactions of billions of people. Tehran wants to control that too.
Iranian military spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaghari made the threat plain last week, declaring on X: "We will impose fees on internet cables." State-linked media went further, warning that companies like Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon must comply with Iranian law, and that cable companies would need to pay licensing fees for passage through the strait, with repair and maintenance rights handed exclusively to Iranian firms.
The stakes are staggering. Subsea cables form the backbone of global connectivity, carrying the vast majority of the world's internet and financial data. Any large-scale disruption could freeze banking systems, sever military communications, cripple AI cloud infrastructure, and trigger what one senior researcher called a "cascading digital catastrophe" across several continents. India alone, whose outsourcing industry depends heavily on uninterrupted data flows, could face losses running into billions.
Iran is not without teeth here. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps operates combat divers, small submarines, and underwater drones capable of reaching the cables. Two of the cables running through the strait, Falcon and Gulf Bridge International, pass directly through Iranian territorial waters.
The threats come as fears grow of resumed US-Israeli military strikes following Trump's return from Beijing. Iran, it appears, has learned a lesson from the Hormuz blockade: economic warfare can be just as paralyzing as military force, and far harder for the world to retaliate against.
Tehran has discovered its leverage. The question now is how far it is willing to use it.
The article gave an interesting view on how global oil data and Iran’s position can affect markets around the world. During one of my economics research projects, I was also relying on do my assignment for me because the amount of reading and analysis became difficult to manage alone. I liked how the post connected political decisions with real economic impact. Topics like this show how connected global industries really are. Nice post
The article gave an interesting view on how global oil data and Iran’s position can affect markets around the world. During one of my economics research projects, I was also relying on do my assignment for me because the amount of reading and analysis became difficult to manage alone. I liked how the post connected political decisions with real economic impact. Topics like this show how connected global industries really are. Nice post