Portuguese 
English 
Spanish 
4 min of reading 
0 comments 
Iran’s warning about submarine cables in the Strait of Hormuz raises fears in the Gulf, where internet, artificial intelligence, financial transactions, and cloud services depend on deep-sea connections
Iran warned last week that submarine cables in the Strait of Hormuz are a vulnerable point for the digital economy, amid fears of attacks against infrastructure linked to the internet, AI, and regional finance.
Strait concentrates oil and data
The Strait of Hormuz is known for global oil transport, but it also plays a vital role in digital traffic. Fiber optic cables connecting India and Southeast Asia to Europe pass through its seabed.
Submarine cables can be fiber optic or electrical, installed on the seabed to transmit data and power.
-
US blocks export of equipment to Chinese chip manufacturer Hua Hong and expands strategy to restrict technological advancement in the semiconductor and artificial intelligence sector
-
In just 5,660 kilometers of pipes crossing 13 countries, Africa is building the largest pipeline in its history — and the final destination is Europe.
-
Brazil and South Africa sign memorandum to expand agricultural cooperation, combat foot-and-mouth disease, and pave the way for more bilateral trade.
-
Antisemitic attacks surge in the United Kingdom and a series of violent crimes leads authorities to declare an unprecedented and concerning national security emergency.
They carry about 99% of the world’s internet traffic, according to the ITU, the UN agency for digital technologies.
When damaged, they can cause slowdowns, e-commerce problems, delays in financial transactions, and economic effects. They also carry telecommunications and electricity between countries.
AI in the Gulf depends on these connections
The vulnerability concerns Gulf countries investing billions of dollars in artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure.
The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia seek to diversify their economies and reduce oil dependence.
The two countries have created national AI companies aimed at regional clients. These operations depend on submarine cables to move large volumes of data at high speed and keep services running.
The Asia-Africa-Europe 1 connects Southeast Asia to Europe via Egypt, with points in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. FALCON links India and Sri Lanka to the Gulf, Sudan, and Egypt.
The Gulf Bridge International Cable System connects Gulf countries, including Iran. Other networks are under construction, including a system led by Qatar’s Ooredoo.
Annual failures remain stable
Despite the growth in the total length of submarine cables between 2014 and 2025, failures remained stable, at around 150 to 200 incidents per year, according to the ICPC.
Between 70% and 80% of failures result from accidental human activities, especially fishing and ship anchors. State-sponsored sabotage remains a risk, but it is not the most common cause.
There are also natural threats, such as underwater currents, earthquakes, deep-sea volcanoes, and typhoons. The industry tries to reduce these risks by burying cables, reinforcing shielding, and choosing secure routes.
War in Iran: Conflict increases indirect risk
The war with Iran, nearly two months old, has already caused unprecedented disruption to global energy supply and affected regional infrastructure.
Amazon Web Services data centers in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates were damaged.
So far, submarine cables have not been hit. Still, there is an indirect risk of damaged vessels dragging anchors and reaching cables installed on the seabed.
In active military operations, the possibility of unintentional damage increases. The longer the conflict lasts, the greater the likelihood of accidental incidents on a network not designed for such pressure.
In 2024, a commercial vessel attacked by Iran-aligned Houthis drifted in the Red Sea. Its anchor cut cables, showing how indirect damage can affect critical infrastructure.
The impact of a rupture depends on each operator’s reliance and available alternatives.
In Gulf countries, this difference can determine whether a failure causes service degradation or more severe outages.
Repair and alternatives remain limited
Repairing submarine cables in conflict zones involves obstacles beyond technical ones. Physical repair is not overly complicated, but repair vessels and insurers may hesitate in the face of combat or mines.
Entry into territorial waters also requires authorization. This process can take a long time and become the biggest source of difficulty when damage occurs in sensitive areas or under military tension.
After hostilities, the sector will have to re-evaluate the seabed, identify safe positions for cables, and avoid ships or objects sunk during the conflict.
Even with damage, connectivity would not be entirely lost due to terrestrial connections. Still, satellites are not a viable alternative to the volume carried by submarine cables.
Satellites depend on terrestrial connections and work best in mobile situations, such as airplanes and ships. Low-orbit networks, like Starlink, are a specialized solution, but without the scale for millions of users.
With information from CNN.
Be the first to react!