Amid escalating tensions in West Asia, a fresh warning has emerged from Iran-aligned media, indicating that the next potential crisis in the Gulf may target undersea internet cables rather than traditional oil shipping routes, raising concerns among regional nations.
A report by Tasnim News Agency highlighted the vulnerability of submarine data cables passing through the Strait of Hormuz. It warned that damage—whether accidental or deliberate—to multiple key cables simultaneously could trigger widespread disruptions across the Persian Gulf. The report noted that the Strait, already vital for global energy supply, has now become equally critical for digital infrastructure.
Several major submarine cable systems, including FALCON, AAE-1 and SEA-ME-WE, pass through this corridor. Countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are heavily dependent on these cables for banking, communications and cloud services.
The report also referred to incidents in 2024 and 2025 in the Red Sea where cable damage led to prolonged outages amid regional instability, and noted past threats by the Houthi movement to target such infrastructure. Analysts view the warning as a strategic signal from Iran to Gulf nations, and although no immediate threat has been identified, it has heightened concerns over the security of critical yet largely unseen digital infrastructure.