Iran considers taxing users of underwater telecom cables in the Strait of Hormuz
After blocking ship traffic, the Islamic Republic plans to extend its grip by targeting these powerful underwater fiber optic arteries deployed in the sea gorge. However, they are vital for the proper functioning of the Internet and sensitive sectors, such as energy or banking.
Ships in the Strait of Hormuz, off the port city of Khasab, on the Musandam Peninsula (Oman), on May 17, 2026. AFP
The threat, which has been hovering since the beginning of the war between the United States and Iran in February, is materializing. After blocking maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran is considering extending its grip by targeting submarine telecom cables. According to the TeleGeography website, which is a reference in the sector, at least seven fiber optic arteries, essential to connect the Arab-Persian Gulf countries to the rest of the world, cross this narrow maritime corridor. However, the guardians of the revolution are now talking about a taxation of users of these infrastructures.
In a message broadcast on Telegram, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic indicated that the country could, in the name of its « absolute sovereignty » over its territorial waters, subject them to « permits, surveillance and tolls, » reported AFP on May 18. More direct, Ebrahim Zolfaghari, the spokesman for the Iranian army, did not clutter himself with conditionals: he promised, on May 9, on X, that the government « will impose taxes on Internet cables ». In addition, the Iranian Parliament debated in May, according to CNN, a bill targeting these infrastructures. Various measures could target both Internet giants and telecom operators, who own and use these networks, the Iranian agency Tasnim mentioned in May.
The latter named the giants Google, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft, even though Washington strictly prohibits American companies from making any payment to the regime. Despite the vagueness, the questions about the legality of such royalties and the difficulties of their implementation, Tasnim maintains that they could « generate hundreds of millions of dollars in annual income » for Iran.
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But it is another threat behind the specter of new taxes: that of sabotage by Iran of several of these arteries, of which the other Gulf states – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Iraq and Bahrain – depend, both for their communications and for the proper functioning of their economy. « This is a very real possibility, » says Mostafa Ahmed, a researcher at the Al Habtoor research center in Cairo. The same bell sounds for Didier Dillard, the CEO of Orange Marine, the subsidiary of the telecom operator specializing in the installation and maintenance of submarine cables: « The risks of sabotage in the region cannot, of course, be ruled out in the current context, » he says.
Sloop water
In a study published in April on this threat, Mr. Ahmed insists on the low protection of these cables: these links appear all the more vulnerable as they are « concentrated in exceptionally shallow water, 50 meters on average ». They are therefore accessible to « autonomous underwater vehicles », or even to « professional divers », the study notes.
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If the conflict with the United States intensified, continues Mr. Ahmed, Iran could « in an extreme scenario, abandon any proportionate response and use the cables as an instrument of global strategic reprisals ». His objective would then be « to inflict reciprocal and paralyzing damage to the global economy, in order to force a ceasefire or geopolitical concessions ».
Without ruling out this possibility, Julien Nocetti, a researcher at the French Institute for International Relations (IFRI), nevertheless considers that « Iran has more to gain by threatening to introduce taxes than by cutting off telecom networks, which the country would also suffer ». This cable sabotage weapon is also a « one-shot rifle, » adds Olivier Chatain, professor at HEC and associate researcher at the Strategic Research Institute of the Military School. « There would therefore be little more to negotiate for Tehran, » he insists, recalling that « repairing cables requires the intervention of specialized ships », whose sailors could not work « under the threat of the Iranian navy ».
Nevertheless, the introduction of this risk of large-scale sabotage raises concerns, given the critical nature of submarine cables, which ensure almost all intercontinental communications. The simultaneous interruption of several links could lead to network congestion in the region, synonymous, depending on the extent of the damage, with more or less severe degradation of the Internet.
Risks to the regional economy
« Among the Gulf countries, the first to be penalized would be all those who have no maritime borders other than the Arab-Persian Gulf, namely the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain, » says Mr. Dillard. Saudi Arabia and Oman seem a little better off, since they have access to submarine cables via the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea respectively. Like other specialists consulted by Le Monde, Mr. Nevertheless, Dillard considers that « the global Internet should not be severely affected ».
However, sabotage could have repercussions on several key sectors of the regional economy, warns Ahmed. In the field of energy and logistics, this could lead to « production shutdowns » at the level of « offshore drilling platforms and pipeline nodes », says the researcher, specifying that oil and liquefied natural gas facilities « depend entirely on digital control and control systems ».
The same goes for the same, says Mr. Ahmed, for the regional banking and financial sector, which, according to him, deals with billions of dollars of transactions per day: « A sudden failure would cause real-time settlement failures and a freeze in liquidity. « Same concerns for Mr. Chatain: « In the case of a large-scale sabotage, the banking sector, which is very important in the region, could find itself, if not paralyzed, forced to actually slow down. «
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Another risk sector is that of the huge data centers dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI), which are growing strongly in the region. This is particularly the case in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, which are relying on this strategy of diversifying their economy to reduce their dependence on oil. However, these facilities need the power of submarine links to route and receive piles of data around the globe. By targeting these sensitive infrastructures, Tehran is at least raising the pressure a notch in the Strait of Hormuz.
source : le monde
