IRGC hints Iran could tax global internet infrastructure – or disrupt world wide web

Mouthpiece for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps proposes Iranian control over undersea fiber optic cables in Strait of Hormuz used for global internet infrastructure, says Tehran should find ways to extract money from foreign companies for use of the connections.

By World Israel News Staff

Media outlets which serve as mouthpieces for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have proposed Tehran take control over the undersea fiber-optic cables on the bottom of the Strait of Hormuz which play a critical role in the global internet infrastructure.

The proposal, advanced in recent items by Tasnim and Fars, is that Tehran should treat submarine fiber-optic cables in the strait as a strategic asset subject to Iranian regulation, fees and control.

The outlets framed the cables as an overlooked source of leverage at a time when the war has already turned Hormuz into a central arena of confrontation.

Tasnim said Iran should move beyond what it described as an outdated view of the strait focused mainly on shipping and energy. It argued that the same waterway also carries critical data traffic, including financial transactions and communications used by global technology companies.

The outlet proposed a three-part policy: licensing fees for foreign cable operators, annual payments to renew those licenses, and a requirement that large technology firms operating through the infrastructure comply with Iranian law. It also called for Iranian companies to receive exclusive authority over cable maintenance and repairs.

Fars made a similar case on X, calling the undersea network a “hidden highway” and saying Iran could use it as part of its “digital power.”

The outlet said damage or disruption to the cables, even for a short period, could impose major economic costs, hinting at the threat of cutting the cables in order to assert Iranian control and extract payments from foreign companies.

Neither outlet explicitly called for cutting the cables. But the coordinated focus on permits, tolls, legal jurisdiction and maintenance control suggested that Tehran-linked media are testing a new line of pressure against Gulf states and Western companies dependent on communications routes through the Persian Gulf.

The messaging follows an earlier Tasnim report that mapped internet cables, landing stations and cloud infrastructure around the Gulf, including systems serving the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. That report argued that Iran’s Gulf rivals are more vulnerable than Tehran to disruptions in maritime internet routes.

The Strait of Hormuz is already one of the world’s most sensitive chokepoints because of the volume of oil and gas that passes through it. The Iranian media campaign seeks to add another layer to that vulnerability: the flow of data beneath the same waters.