IRGC-linked media outlines plan to tax and control undersea internet cables in the Hormuz Strait — Iran's mouthpiece calls for a cut of $10 trillion of transactions that pulse through the cables daily
If data is the new oil, we will be down two oils.
If you thought the crisis centered on the Strait of Hormuz couldn’t get worse, think again. The oil and shipping choke point may also soon become a digital pressure point. That’s if Iranian leaders heed the IRGC‑affiliated Iranian news agency Tasnim (via Iran International), which has called for generating revenue by charging fees on the multitude of undersea internet cables that pass through the channel.
Tasnim is regarded as an official mouthpiece for the IRGC (the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps). Those watching the situation in the Gulf may recall that the IRGC often speaks for the government regarding military policy. So Tansim's ideas for extracting value from the $10 trillion of transactions estimated to be pulsing through these cables daily won’t merely be the musings of some journalist.
The Tasnim article was headlined ‘Three practical steps for generating revenue from Strait of Hormuz internet cables.’ In the piece, the writer paints Iran as a nation deprived of any wealth creation from this key infrastructure in a waterway, which, before this conflict, wasn’t seen as Iran’s to rule.
Some of the practical wealth creation steps Iran could take, according to the cited Tasnim post, include:
- Initial licensing and levy of annual renewal fees for foreign cable owners/operators
- Insist that tech companies like Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft, which use the cabling, operate under Iranian law
- Ensure exclusive control and maintenance of the cabling is in the hands of Iranian companies.
Another well-known Iranian news source that is also linked to the IRGC, Fars, has published a similar story, according to Iran International. Fars reportedly floats the idea of disrupting the internet cables in the Strait, causing damage measured in tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars over even just a few days. Such an act would not just hurt the U.S. tech giants, though; local and other global businesses would likely feel the impacts, too.
Threatening the undersea cables in the Strait of Hormuz isn't entirely a new idea, admits the source. It notes that Tasnim mapped the internet cabling in a news report last month. At that time, the IRGC-affiliated media highlighted that the cables running through the strait were of greatest importance to countries to the south, like the western-interest-friendly UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia.
Hopefully, these news articles from Iranian agencies close to the government/military are mostly a saber-rattling effort, another bargaining chip held aloft, in the will-they-won’t-they conflict negotiations that have dominated headlines for weeks.
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Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.
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CorpRebel I hope the Iranian's so called leadership will enjoy the POTUS giving them the joy of losing most of their power plants and the rest of whatever oil revenue they hope to somehow to get. Good luck with that! But they will not be able to enforce that anyway... not in the way they think! The IRGC is pretty much a "paper tiger" right now and they are just like the flies on a farm animal... an annoyance but nothing worse... 🤷Reply -
USAFRet Content over those cables?Reply
Getting paid to allow traffic can be seen as the Iranian (Islamic) govt getting paid to allow data and traffic that is 100% against their Islamic beliefs.
Interesting. -
blppt Reply
If the US was actually willing to blatantly and purposefully commit war crimes like that, we wouldnt have a stalemate right now.CorpRebel said:I hope the Iranian's so called leadership will enjoy the POTUS giving them the joy of losing most of their power plants and the rest of whatever oil revenue they hope to somehow to get.
But keep on waving that flag. -
twin_savage Reply
100%Gururu said:but the start of the war was as dirtball as it gets.
Taking 66 hostages to extort a country for billions is not a good look and eventually karma will catch up.
What's crazy is how out of touch these people have to be to demand control over waterways recognized as international by the entire world. -
Gururu Reply
I guess it's fair to cry about that incident so that we can justify Flight 655 and this "excursion" 47 years later which killed 120 school children. I believe they are equal in targeted civilian attacks.twin_savage said:100%
Taking 66 hostages to extort a country for billions is not a good look and eventually karma will catch up.
What's crazy is how out of touch these people have to be to demand control over waterways recognized as international by the entire world.
Back on topic. Those undersea wires are going to be forever in jeopardy now. Didn't have to happen... -
twin_savage Reply
For an attack to be targeted it must be intentional; There is a stark difference between intentionally targeting civilians with purpose and shooting down a perceived F-14 or hitting the wrong building on a military base, to suggest otherwise is disingenuous.Gururu said:I believe they are equal in targeted civilian attacks.
They've been in jeopardy for years, between Iran, it's allies and proxies, 17 major undersea cables have been attacked in the past 3 years; this genie has long since left the bottle.Gururu said:Back on topic. Those undersea wires are going to be forever in jeopardy now. Didn't have to happen... -
Gururu Reply
Well, we are either two veterans who served their country putting their lives in jeopardy and can agree to disagree, or you are an armchair quarterback. Back to topic!twin_savage said:For an attack to be targeted it must be intentional; There is a stark difference between intentionally targeting civilians with purpose and shooting down a perceived F-14 or hitting the wrong building on a military base, to suggest otherwise is disingenuous.
They've been in jeopardy for years, between Iran, it's allies and proxies, 17 major undersea cables have been attacked in the past 3 years; this genie has long since left the bottle.