🇮🇷⚔️🇺🇸 The IRGC warned the U.S. that resumption of hostilities between the two countries means that for Iran "there will be no more red lines".

Speaking to Reuters, two Iranian security officials warned that renewed US-Israeli attacks on Iran would see "undersea cables to military bases, including covert ones," come under attack in such a way "to prevent repairs after any attacks to prolong disruptions to communications".

The official warned Washington not to "play with fire", and said Iran had full access to the undersea cables and could easily destroy them.

Undersea cables carry around 99% of global internet traffic, according to the International Telecommunication Union, a UN agency. But the ​global impact of such attacks by Iran could be limited as less than 1% of international bandwidth passes through the Strait of Hormuz, said Alan Mauldin, research director at telecommunications ​research firm TeleGeography.

Multiple cable cuts could slow internet services and disrupt financial transactions, e-commerce and cloud computing, analysts said. The impact would depend on how operators rerouted traffic and ​the capacity available on alternative connections, Mauldin said.

Restoring ​connections during wartime could be difficult, ⁠experts said, and higher insurance costs and delays in obtaining permits to enter territorial waters could further complicate repairs.

The Red Sea could offer a more significant target than the Strait of Hormuz, particularly if Iran had support from its Houthi allies in Yemen, though Tehran ​has made no public statement indicating it plans to target cables there.

The Red Sea carries data between Europe, East Africa and ​Asia, with capacity routed ⁠through it accounting for about 3% of global international demand and around 10% of traffic travelling between regions, Mauldin said.

Iranian strikes directly hit two Amazon Web Services facilities in the UAE in March and damaged infrastructure near one of its ⁠facilities in Bahrain. ​The IRGC named US tech companies including Microsoft, Google, Apple and Nvidia as legitimate targets at the ​height of the war in March.

🔗 https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-has-detailed-plans-hit-gulf-undersea-cables-if-war-resumes-officials-say-2026-10-23/