Iran threatens subsea cables amid US tensions
The gist
At least four Iran-linked vessels lingered over undersea cable corridors off Oman in October, per Windward tracking.
Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar depend entirely on cables under the Strait of Hormuz.
How it unfolded
- Oct 12, 2026Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said data centers and artificial intelligence facilities "will be destroyed" if the war resumes.
- Oct 14, 2026The US-sanctioned Iran-flagged tanker Celestial Sea drifted in a loop for more than four hours beside the 2Africa cable.
- Oct 15, 2026Celestial Sea switched off its transponder inside the 2Africa and Bay of Bengal Gateway corridors off Sohar, stayed dark 86 hours, reappeared nine nautical miles away and anchored empty.
Key terms
- Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
- A multi-service military force of Iran, separate from the regular army and reporting to the supreme leader.
- Strait of Hormuz
- A narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, bordered by Iran and Oman.
- transponder
- An automatic tracking system using shipboard transponders that broadcasts vessel identity and position data to nearby ships and stations.
Source: Wikipedia