Iran’s government wants to charge the world’s largest technology companies for using subsea internet cables laid under the Strait of Hormuz, CNN reported.
State-linked media outlets in Iran have also issued vague warnings that traffic could be disrupted if companies refuse to pay, the report added.
Lawmakers Discuss Cable Fee Plan
Lawmakers in Tehran discussed a plan last week that could target submarine cables linking Arab countries with Europe and Asia.
“We will impose fees on internet cables,” Iranian military spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaghari wrote on X last week.
We will impose fees on internet cables.
— العميد إبراهيم ذو الفقاري (@Ibrahim_alFiqar) May 9, 2026
Media linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards reported that Tehran’s plan would require companies such as Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon to comply with Iranian law.
Submarine cable companies would also be required to pay licensing fees for cable passage, while repair and maintenance rights would be given only to Iranian firms.
Some of these companies have invested in cables running through the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf. However, it remains unclear whether those cables pass through Iranian waters.
Sanctions Raise Compliance Questions
It is also unclear how Iran could force major tech companies to comply with the proposed charges.
Strict US sanctions bar these companies from making payments to Iran. As a result, the firms may view Tehran’s statements as political posturing rather than a serious policy plan.
Still, state-affiliated media outlets have issued indirect warnings about possible damage to cables. Any such disruption could affect some of the trillions of dollars in global data transmission and hurt internet connectivity worldwide.
Iran Seeks Leverage Over Strait Of Hormuz
Dina Esfandiary, Middle East lead at Bloomberg Economics, told CNN that Iran’s threats are part of a strategy to show its leverage over the Strait of Hormuz and protect the regime.
She said Iran wants to impose such a high cost on the global economy that no one would dare attack it again.
The subsea cables carry major internet and financial traffic between Europe, Asia, and the Persian Gulf. Targeting them would affect far more than internet speeds.
A disruption could threaten banking systems, military communications, AI cloud infrastructure, remote work, online gaming, and streaming services.
Experts Warn Of Wider Damage
CNN also spoke to Mostafa Ahmed, a senior researcher at the UAE-based Habtoor Research Center, who has studied the impact of large-scale attacks on submarine communication infrastructure in the Gulf.
Ahmed said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps could pose a risk to underwater cables through combat divers, small submarines, and underwater drones. He warned that any attack could trigger a cascading digital catastrophe across several continents.
Iran’s neighbors across the Persian Gulf could face serious internet disruptions. This could also affect critical oil and gas exports as well as banking operations. Beyond the region, India could see a large share of its internet traffic affected, putting its outsourcing industry at risk of losses worth billions.
A disruption could also slow financial trading and cross-border transactions between Europe and Asia. Parts of East Africa could also face internet blackouts. Ahmed added that the damage could be far worse if Iran’s proxies used similar tactics in the Red Sea.
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