If the United States and Israel resume military strikes against Iran, Tehran has formulated a specific operational plan to directly target submarine communication cables running through the Persian Gulf, Reuters reported on October 23 (local time), citing sources.

Multiple senior Iranian security officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, stated that Iran has established such plans in preparation for a renewed U.S.-Israeli offensive.

While declining to specify the exact target locations or methods, the officials added that the plan aims to fundamentally block post-recovery operations to prolong communication disruptions, including internet outages, after severing the subsea cables.

"If Iran is attacked, there will be no more red lines," one official warned, adding that "everything from subsea cables to all military bases, including secret facilities, could become targets."

Issuing a stern warning to the U.S. not to "play with fire," the official claimed that Iran possesses the full capability to access submarine cables and easily destroy them at any time.

This is interpreted as an extension of Iran's previous warnings that if diplomatic compromises with the West collapse and armed conflict in the Middle East spirals out of control, Tehran will mobilize asymmetric warfare capabilities to directly threaten key regional infrastructure.

According to statistics from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a United Nations agency, approximately 99% of global internet traffic is transmitted via submarine cables.

However, some observers suggest that even if Iran were to carry out attacks on subsea cables, the fallout would not escalate into a global communication crisis.

Alan Mauldin, research director at telecommunications market research firm TeleGeography, analyzed that "international communication bandwidth passing through the Strait of Cornwall—or rather, the Strait of Hormuz—accounts for less than 1% of the total, so the impact of such an attack by Iran on global networks would be limited."

(Photo: Yonhap News)