Story highlights
The undersea cables carry a large share of global data traffic between Europe, the Gulf, and Asia. Tehran proposes to impose a toll for submarine cables that provide internet communications. Iran also wants all management and maintenance handled exclusively by domestic companies.
Iran is initiating steps to take full control of all 7 undersea internet cables passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran also proposes to impose a toll for submarine cables that provide internet communications. Iran has proposed a governance model for underwater submarine cables passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway, already a chokepoint for global oil shipments, is equally vital for the digital world. Several fibre-optic cables lie across the seabed of the strait, connecting countries from India and Southeast Asia to Europe via the Gulf states and Egypt.
“In the proposed governance model for the Strait of Hormuz, the passage of submarine cables must be conducted with a permit and payment of tolls, and foreign companies must also operate under Iranian laws,” said Iran’s FARS News Agency in a post.
Add WION as a Preferred Source
“Furthermore, the management, repair, and maintenance of these cables can be exclusively entrusted to Iranian companies, so that the Strait of Hormuz becomes one of Iran’s digital power levers,” it added.
Fibre-optic cables laid on the sea floor carry around 99% of the world’s internet traffic. They are essential for cloud services and online communications.
Trending Stories
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
How fast can the Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jet really fly?
)
Did China ask its people 'not to respond to aliens'? Origin of bizarre claim on social media
)
MS Dhoni-CSK Fallout? Report claims failed stake sale talks triggered rift
)
Scientists reveal the SAFEST COUNTRY when catastrophe strikes the planet
)
Serial killer on the loose in South Korea's Jeju Island? Fourth body found in three days as more than a dozen people go missing
)
2/3rd of glacier detached, collapsed: ISRO satellite images reveal what triggered Nepal floods
)
Trump once again claims without him there would be ‘no Israel right now’
)
Foreign espionage attacks against German companies surge to 37%, Bitkom report reveals
)
Blake Lively wins partial legal fee from Justin Baldoni after $8M request
)
Why is Pakistan deploying Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones near India border?
)
'OH MY GOD! We've found other agents!': Investigators discover not one or two, almost 700 OpenAI AI agents went rogue, hacked Hugging Face
)
Lunar eclipse 2026: India timings, places to see and more. August Blood moon factsheet
)
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on global outreach tour
)
Both pilots killed as training aircraft crashes in Lucknow – What we know
)
16-year-old charged with preparing terror attack on kindergarten in Norway
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
How the S-400 protects itself from enemy attacks
)
Nepal floods: Over 165 dead, 400 missing; US, India, China, World Bank mobilise aid
)
India's multi-layered watch: The new surveillance war
)
5 doomsday planes spotted in US skies hours after CIA director's secret trip to Russia
)
9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to finally face trial in 2028, nearly 27 years after horrific attacks
)
Islamabad hospital fire: What we know about one of the biggest facility that housed Imran Khan
)
Workers run for life while filming Nepal flash flood: Scary new visuals emerge from Rasuwa
)
Russian military planes enter South Korean air defence zone amid rising tensions with North Korea: What's happening
)
Ron Weasley Is Back! Rupert Grint set to return to Harry Potter universe on Broadway
)
400-year-old 'vampire' grave in Poland reveals non-existent genetic lineage
)
Dolly Parton, global icon and queen of country music, dies at 80
)
Nepal flash floods: Kailash Mansarovar yatra affected, close to 400 pilgrims out of contact
)
'If he is dead, they're putting on a pretty good show': Trump casts fresh doubt over Mojtaba Khamenei's fate
)
Man arrested near US Capitol with guillotine in pickup truck: What happened?
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
Why the Su-30MKI cockpit is painted bright turquoise green
As Iran moves to take control of undersea internet cables in the Strait of Hormuz, foreign operators may be forced to get Iranian permits, pay transit fees, and follow Iranian law, according to Fars. The cables carry a large share of global data traffic between Europe, the Gulf, and Asia. Iran also wants all management and maintenance handled exclusively by domestic companies.
The IRGC has previously warned it could target submarine cable infrastructure used by Gulf states for internet, banking, and cloud services.