IRGC-linked Tasnim has pointedly mapped the Persian Gulf's undersea internet cables and cloud infrastructure in what appears to be a thinly veiled warning
that the region's digital backbone may now be in Iran's line of fire. The report, published on Wednesday, focused on the Strait of Hormuz not only as an energy chokepoint but as a critical corridor for submarine cables serving countries around the Persian Gulf, including the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, Iran International reported. It argued that several major cable systems pass through or near the waterway and said the southern side of the Persian Gulf depends far more heavily than Iran on maritime internet routes. Rather than reading as a neutral technical explainer, the article appeared to frame those cables, landing stations and data hubs as strategic pressure points in the conflict, it said. Tasnim also drew attention to the concentration of cloud and data-center infrastructure in states on the southern side of the Persian Gulf, especially the UAE and Bahrain, effectively sketching a map of assets whose disruption could carry major economic and communications consequences.
How digital infrastructure is already under attack
That warning carries added weight because digital infrastructure has already come under attack in this war. Recent reporting said Iranian drone strikes hit Amazon Web Services facilities in the UAE and Bahrain, underlining the physical vulnerability of commercial cloud infrastructure in the Persian Gulf.
The Tasnim article suggests Iran-linked media are signaling that undersea cables and regional data hubs now sit alongside ports, shipping lanes and energy facilities in the conflict’s widening map of pressure points.
United States Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed on Thursday that American forces "have directed 31 vessels to turn around or return to port as part of the US blockade against Iran".
Despite the extension of the truce, the US has made it clear that the cessation of hostilities remains strictly conditional. President Donald Trump asserted that the naval blockade will persist until such time as Tehran presents a formal proposal and discussions lead to a definitive outcome.
(With agency inputs)
