Iran will impose fees on subsea internet cables in Strait of Hormuz
Key takeaways
- Lawmakers in Tehran discussed a plan last week which could target submarine cables linking Arab countries to Europe and Asia.
- “We will impose fees on internet cables,” Iranian military spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaghari declared on X last week.
- CNN What happens if an undersea cable is cut?
Ships and boats in the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, on May 1. Reuters The Middle East Asia See all topics Facebook Tweet Email Link Threads Link Copied! Follow Emboldened by its successful wartime blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran is turning to one of the hidden arteries in the global economy: subsea cables beneath the waterway that carry vast internet and financial traffic between Europe, Asia and the Persian Gulf.
The Islamic Republic wants to charge the world’s largest tech companies for using the subsea internet cables laid under the Strait of Hormuz, and state-linked media outlets have vaguely threatened that traffic could be disrupted if firms don’t pay. Lawmakers in Tehran discussed a plan last week which could target submarine cables linking Arab countries to Europe and Asia.
“We will impose fees on internet cables,” Iranian military spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaghari declared on X last week. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards-linked media said Tehran’s plan to extract revenue from the strait would require companies like Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon to comply with Iranian law while submarine cable companies would be required to pay licensing fees for cable passage, with repair and maintenance rights given exclusively to Iranian firms.