Iranian officials: Tehran has detailed plans to hit Gulf undersea cables if war resumes

Tehran has drawn up detailed plans to target undersea communications cables in the Gulf if the United States and Israel attack Iran again, two senior Iranian security officials tell Reuters.

Their comments follow warnings by Iranian officials that undersea cables in the region could become targets in any renewed conflict if diplomacy with Washington collapses.

The two Iranian security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, give few details and do not say how or where exactly Tehran would carry out such attacks. But one of them says Iran would aim to prevent repairs after any attacks to prolong disruptions to communications, including internet connections.

“If Iran is attacked, there will be no more red lines… from undersea cables to military bases, including covert ones,” one of the officials says.

The official warns Washington not to “play with fire,” and says Iran has full access to the undersea cables and could easily destroy them.

Undersea cables carry around 99% of global internet traffic, according to the International Telecommunication Union, a UN agency. But the global impact of such attacks by Iran could be limited as less than 1% of international bandwidth passes through the Strait of Hormuz, said Alan Mauldin, research director at telecommunications research firm TeleGeography.