Iran's Next Power Play After Oil Chokehold: Taxing Google, Meta, Others for Hormuz Internet Cables
Tehran says cable operators must pay licensing fees and follow Iranian law, while state-linked media warn of possible disruption if firms refuse.
- Iranian military spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaghari declared last week that the Islamic Republic plans to impose 'transit fees' on international consortia for subsea internet cables traversing the Strait of Hormuz.
- Tehran frames the proposal as compliant with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, though TeleGeography research director Alan Mauldin notes most operators avoid Iranian waters, clustering cables along the Omani side.
- Subsea cables carry vital global data, with a single fiber capable of transmitting roughly 150 million simultaneous phone calls; Mostafa Ahmed of the United Arab Emirates-based Habtoor Research Center warns that Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps interference could trigger a cascading 'digital catastrophe'.
- Tech giants including Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon face demands to comply with Iranian regulations to operate, with state-linked media threatening traffic disruptions if firms refuse to pay licensing fees.
- Cables in the Strait of Hormuz account for less than 1% of global bandwidth, meaning potential damage would be severe regionally but limited globally, while Western sanctions further complicate payment logistics.
28 Articles
28 Articles
Iran wants to charge digital giants for the use of submarine cables connecting Europe, Asia and the Gulf.
Iran has found a new way to put pressure on the rest of the world. The country emphasizes that very important internet cables run through the Strait of Hormuz.
Concerns over paralysis of Asia and Europe escalate as threats to undersea cables originating from Iran intensify. Iran pushes to impose usage fees for undersea cables, a measure targeting US Big Tech companies such as Google and Meta. Attacks on cables could disrupt global financial networks. Iran, which dealt a major blow to the global oil supply chain by blockading the Strait of Hormuz, is now targeting the undersea, the hidden artery of the …
CNN: Iran eyeing control over key internet cable routes
CNN: Iran eyeing control over key internet cable routes CNN reported that Iran is seeking to expand its regional influence by focusing on submarine internet cables that carry communications and financial data between Europe, Asia and Gulf countries following tensions in the Strait of Hormuz. According to the report, Iranian authorities said major technology companies, including Google, Microsoft, Meta and Amazon would be required to pay for sub…
Iran wants to impose fees on tech giants that use undersea cables in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran's next power play after oil chokehold: Taxing Google, Meta, others for Hormuz internet cables
The Iranian state-linked media outlets have warned that any refusal to cooperate with Iran could trigger regional outages, potentially disrupting internet services, causing e-commerce glitches, and halting money transfers across affected areas.
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