GoKawiilEmboldened 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.
Some of these companies have invested in the cables running through the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf, but it’s unclear if those cables traverse Iranian waters.
It’s also unclear how the regime could force tech giants to comply, as they are barred from making payments to Iran due to strict US sanctions; as a result, the companies themselves may view Iran’s statements as posturing rather than serious policy.
Still, state-affiliated media outlets have issued veiled threats warning of damage to cables that could impact some of the trillions of dollars in global data transmission and affect worldwide internet connectivity.
Screenshots taken from www.submarinecablemap.com in May 14, 2026. TeleGeography
CNN has reached out to the companies mentioned in the Iranian report.
As fears grow that the war could resume following US President Donald Trump’s return from China, Iran is increasingly signaling that it has powerful tools at its disposal beyond military force. The move underscores the significance of the Strait of Hormuz beyond energy exports, as Tehran seeks to turn its geographic leverage into long-term economic and strategic power.
Subsea cables form the backbone of global connectivity, carrying the vast majority of the world’s internet and data traffic. Targeting them would affect far more than internet speeds, threatening everything from banking systems, military communications and AI cloud infrastructure to remote work, online gaming and streaming services.
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