Iran Is About To Cut The Worlds Internet And The U.S. Military RESPONDED

Iran’s New Threat May Run Beneath the Strait of Hormuz

WASHINGTON — For months, the world has watched the Strait of Hormuz as an oil crisis. Tankers stalled, energy markets trembled, and American warships moved through one of the most dangerous maritime corridors on Earth. But now, as President Donald Trump delays a planned military strike on Iran, another vulnerability is coming into focus — not on the surface of the water, but beneath it.

Undersea internet cables running through and around the Strait of Hormuz have become the latest pressure point in the confrontation between Washington and Tehran. Iranian state-linked media have floated proposals to charge foreign companies for the use of submarine fiber-optic cables in the strait, turning a maritime chokepoint long associated with oil into a possible digital bargaining chip. The plan, if carried out through intimidation or sabotage, could rattle Gulf economies and test the U.S. military’s ability to defend infrastructure that is largely invisible to the public.

The threat comes as Trump says he postponed a planned attack on Iran after appeals from Gulf leaders, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The delay, according to the president, was meant to give negotiations a brief chance. But he also warned that American forces remain prepared to strike if diplomacy fails. The Guardian reported that Trump threatened “a big hit” if Tehran does not make a deal soon.

For American officials, the emerging concern is that Iran may try to widen the conflict without firing a missile at U.S. forces. Instead, Tehran could threaten the systems that carry money, communications and cloud traffic through the Gulf. Seven undersea cables are reported to lie beneath the waters of the strait, connecting Gulf states to wider internet networks. Iranian outlets linked to the Revolutionary Guards have argued that Tehran should impose licensing fees, require technology giants to operate under Iranian law and claim exclusive authority over cable maintenance.

That is not the same as cutting the world’s internet. Experts say the rhetoric is more alarming than the practical reality. Many of the cables primarily serve Gulf countries, and global internet systems have redundancy. A cable cut in Hormuz would likely disrupt regional connectivity more than global connectivity. But the risk is still serious because repair ships may not operate under threat, and a prolonged disruption could damage financial flows, cloud services and critical communications across the Gulf.

The proposal reflects a broader Iranian strategy: convert geography into leverage. The Strait of Hormuz is already one of the world’s most important energy corridors. Roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments pass through or near it, making the waterway central to global energy security. In the current crisis, Iran has used the strait not only as a military theater, but as a bargaining table.

Now the battlefield may be moving from tankers to fiber.

According to Iran International, Tasnim, a media outlet linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, argued that undersea fiber-optic cables passing through the strait carry more than $10 trillion in financial transactions each day. The same reporting said Fars, another IRGC-linked outlet, described the cables as a “hidden highway” that could become one of Iran’s tools of “digital power.”

The legal claim behind the proposal appears weak. The Guardian reported that experts doubt Iran can legally or technically charge specific companies for traffic passing through the cables, especially because most of those cables do not terminate in Iran. One internet infrastructure expert said the only way Iran could extract tolls would be through threats — an approach that would almost certainly invite a military response.

That is where the U.S. military enters the equation.

The American response to a cable threat would likely begin with surveillance. The United States has aircraft, helicopters, surface ships and undersea systems designed to detect activity in crowded maritime environments. The P-8 Poseidon, a maritime patrol aircraft based on the Boeing 737, is built for anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

In the shallow, noisy waters of the Persian Gulf, detection is difficult. The strait is crowded with commercial traffic, patrol boats, drones and shifting acoustic conditions. But the U.S. military’s objective would be clear: identify Iranian submarines, divers or unmanned systems before they can damage cables or threaten shipping.

Iran’s most relevant tool may be its Ghadir-class mini submarines. The Nuclear Threat Initiative says Iran began deploying Ghadir-class and Nahang-class mini submarines for shallow-water use in the Persian Gulf in 2007. NTI also reports that Iran possesses Ghadir-class mini submarines capable of firing torpedoes and missiles, with the design based on North Korea’s Yono-class submarine.

These boats are small, limited and vulnerable against a sophisticated navy. But in the confined waters of Hormuz, small can be dangerous. A mini submarine does not need to defeat the U.S. Navy to create a crisis. It only needs to approach a cable, lay mines, deploy divers or force Washington to treat every underwater contact as a potential strategic threat.

That is why cable defense is so difficult. Oil tankers can be tracked by satellite. Fast boats can be seen from the air. Missile launchers can be located by intelligence platforms. But undersea sabotage is a different problem. It is slower, quieter and easier to deny.

The U.S. military has been investing heavily in unmanned undersea systems that could help close that gap. DARPA’s Manta Ray program is designed to demonstrate long-duration, long-range, payload-capable unmanned undersea vehicles that can operate without constant support from manned ships or ports.

Lockheed Martin has also unveiled the Lamprey Multi-Mission Autonomous Undersea Vehicle, which Defense News reported can attach itself to ships, launch torpedoes, deploy aerial drones and operate from the seabed to the surface. Such systems are part of a broader shift toward persistent undersea surveillance and autonomous maritime operations.

For Washington, the strategic question is not whether Iran can “cut the world’s internet.” It almost certainly cannot. The real question is whether Iran can create enough uncertainty to raise costs for the United States, Gulf allies and major technology companies.

That kind of pressure fits Tehran’s playbook. If Iran cannot win a conventional fight, it can threaten chokepoints. If it cannot defeat the U.S. Navy, it can create risk for tankers, ports, cables and insurers. If it cannot force Washington to lift sanctions directly, it can try to make global markets nervous enough that other governments push for compromise.

Trump’s delay gives diplomacy a brief opening, but it also gives military planners time to prepare. American and allied forces can map underwater routes, monitor Iranian naval bases, track submarine movements and warn Tehran that any attack on undersea infrastructure would carry consequences.

The Gulf states have strong reasons to avoid escalation. Their economies depend on stable shipping, functioning ports, energy exports, cloud services and financial connectivity. A war that spreads from the surface of Hormuz to the seabed would threaten not only oil markets but the digital architecture of modern Gulf economies.

Iran’s leaders may believe that threatening cables gives them another card to play. But it is a dangerous card. Unlike tanker harassment, deliberate cable sabotage would target civilian infrastructure used by governments, banks, airlines, energy companies and ordinary people. It could draw in not only Washington but also technology firms, insurers, financial institutions and Gulf governments that might otherwise prefer restraint.

That is the danger of the moment. Every new pressure point creates a new path to miscalculation.

Trump has paused the strike. Iran has escalated the language. The Gulf is bracing. And beneath the Strait of Hormuz, the cables that carry the region’s digital life have become the newest symbol of a conflict that keeps finding new ways to spread.