It became known in mid-May՝ Իրանը վերահսկողության տակ է վերցնում part of the worldwide internetthreatening to destroy it otherwise. Tehran could damage the underwater cables that carry the Internet between Europe and Asiathe traffic, if other states refuse to pay for their use planned fees: CNN reports՝ Iranian authorities have also announced that they are planning to charge fees for the use of underwater Internet cables that pass through the Strait of Hormuz between Europe, Asia and the Persian Gulf.

The Iranians intend to demand payments from the largest IT companies on the planet, which work through these cables. Google, Microsoft, Amazon and other tech giants could fall under the demands։ In relation to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the Iranian media have already hinted transparently that if they do not pay, the traffic may be disrupted.

The cables are laid across the bottom of the Strait of Hormuz, part of which is controlled by Tehran. CNN notes՝ their even partial damage can affect banking operations, exchanges, cloud services and artificial intelligence infrastructure across the planet, causing major disruptions to the global web, from online services, banks and exchanges to streaming platforms.

So, in fact, after the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran is going to take control of the cables already laid under that waterway. In addition, a license fee will be set for laying new communication lines, and only Iranian companies will be able to deal with their maintenance. “We will charge a fee for Internet cables,” reports in the media confirmed Ibrahim Zolfaghari, a representative of the Iranian army.

Iranians and their affiliated structures have already participated in damaging cables in the region. For example, in the spring of 2024, the Sheba Intelligence analytical platform with reference to classified documents reported՝ The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Unit 313 and the Ansar Allah cyber unit of the Yemeni Houthi organization carried out two special operations (in February and March 2024) targeting submarine cables passing through the Red Sea. According to Sky News, this affected 25% of traffic across the Red Sea, on lines carrying data to Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Four of the 15 submarine cables were seriously damaged (including Asia-Africa-Europe 1, Europe-India Gateway, Seacom and TGN-Gulf, according to Hong Kong-based HGC Global Communications).

Today, due to the aggression carried out by Epstein’s coalition against Iran, a similar Internet strike can turn from regional to global. Underwater as of the early 2020s there was more than 530 operating and running Internet cables with a total length of more than one million kilometers. The main highways run between the east coast of North America and European countries. Cables from Europe go to African, Middle Eastern countries and India. And from the west coast of North America, the cables stretch to Japan, Southeast Asian countries and Australia.

Individual cables vary greatly in length. For example, the Circe South cable stretching from Great Britain to France is only 115 km long, while the Pacific Crossing-1 cable connecting the USA and Japan is up to 21,000 km long. In general, the length of the cable depends on the distance required for the connection. Many countries and companies go beyond a single cable and, if necessary, install additional cables (usually at considerable distances from each other). If one cable fails, the signal is rerouted through the backup cables.

Today, submarine cables make the world what it is. However, their vulnerability stems from their very structure and installation problems, or rather, from the lack of cable vessels. All these cables are very thin. In addition, they can have different structures, components, as well as materials from which they are made. Cutting or damaging the cable is quite easy. the diameter of a part of the structure lowered into the depth is only up to 6 centimeters.

In the spring of 2025, China introduced to the world a special compact deep-sea device designed to cut cables, which can damage even the world’s most protected underwater communication and power lines.: This tool is capable of cutting lines at depths of up to 4,000 meters, which is double the maximum operating range of existing underwater communications infrastructure, and is specially designed to integrate with China’s advanced manned and unmanned underwater vehicles such as Fendouzhe (Striver) and Haidou.

It was developed by the state by CSSRC Institute. Officially, it was intended for rescue operations and resource extraction, but experts quickly remembered the underwater Internet cables connecting continents, for example, between the United States and Asia. Or near Guam, where one of the busiest routes passes: The device is already being integrated with submarines like the Fengdou Zhe and the Haido series of drones. In other words, technically these devices can now be used to shut down the internet for an entire region at any time.

Currently, depending on the route, cables can be laid up to 8 kilometers deep, twice as deep as the cables normally used by the equipment described above. However, not everyone can work that deep, and such depths are not always possible. Considerable preparations are made before the actual installation. A thorough study of the route is needed to ensure it is safe and cost-effective.

The laying of the cables is carried out by special cable-carrying vessels, which are made to special order. They have a remarkable feature. on the decks and in the hold they have one or more huge drums (anvils) on which the cable is loaded. Depending on the type of ship, it can accommodate up to several thousand kilometers of cable. The cable is released by means of a special system of cable machines working with an electric cable, which resembles a winch (hoist). At the same time, there are only a little more than 60 cable-laying vessels in the world, and the work schedule of each of them is planned several years in advance.

Another problem with submarine cables is that international infrastructure law is underdeveloped and somewhat outdated. Both the US and China have tried to fill the gaps with their own regulations. However, the efforts of both were not enough. Although for different reasons.

American legislation is very old. The most recent piece of US legislation dealing with submarine cables is the Submarine Cable Act of 1888. Cable damage entails a $5,000 fine and up to 2 years in prison. By comparison, negligence in dropping anchor or using fishing nets carries a mere $500 fine and three months in jail. These are extremely weak deterrents for operations with recovery costs of up to $3 million.

China, for its part, insists that the delineation of cable laying routes on the continental shelf is under the jurisdiction of the state that owns it. In practice, this involves notifying the state’s maritime administration and obtaining written permission from the country’s navy, which sometimes results in rerouting. Only then can the operator request permission to bring the cable out into the state. After that, he must constantly and fully inform the authorities about his activities.

All this greatly contributes to the plans of the Iranian authorities to take under their control a part of the global Internet passing under the Strait of Hormuz.

Oleg Sarov

fondsk.ru

Translation by Zhanna Avetisyan

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