Iran issues chilling threat to cut all the world's internet

 Iran has issued a chilling warning to the world over crucial internet cables running under the Strait of Hormuz as tensions with the US skyrocket once again. A spokesperson for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said: "Seven major cables have passed under the Strait of Hormuz, all of which the world's internet and commercial data depend on; we are reminding them of this so that the enemy knows." The spokesperson, Brigadier General Hossein Mohebi, also issued a separate warning on social media, posting what appeared to be an AI-generated image of a missile alongside the message: "The world will see what will happen."

Mohebi was appointed as the IRGC's spokesperson earlier this year, replacing Ali-Mohammad Naeini. The warning comes amid mounting threats from Tehran against vital digital infrastructure across the Middle East, with underwater fibre-optic cables, data centres and artificial intelligence facilities all identified as potential targets.

Mohsen Rezaee, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and a former commander of the IRGC, warned earlier this month that the infrastructure could come within Iran's range if conflict erupts again.

He said: "If war breaks out again, the many undersea cables, data centers, and AI facilities in the region worth $2trillion will come within our range."

Rezaee also warned that Iran was prepared to demonstrate "new strike capabilities", before writing on X the following day: "If the enemy makes its next mistake against Iran, it will bring a new front and a bigger surprise."

Iran's threats against digital infrastructure have been building for months. In March, the IRGC reportedly identified cloud infrastructure belonging to Google, Microsoft and Oracle as potential targets, before later naming 17 US firms including Google, Meta and Apple.

The comments were also backed by Iranian hardliners, with Hossein Shariatmadari, editor-in-chief of the conservative Kayhan newspaper and a representative of the country's supreme leader, arguing that seven major international undersea cables running through the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz should be used as a "pressure tool".

Undersea fibre-optic cables carry the vast majority of data travelling between continents, with crucial routes concentrated around a number of maritime chokepoints.

Security expert Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer at King's College London, has warned that the cables are "difficult to protect continuously" and disruption can affect several countries simultaneously.

Three cables were damaged in the Red Sea in February 2024, most likely by the anchor of a stricken cargo ship, with repairs taking months. Two more were cut near Jeddah in September 2025, slowing internet access across parts of the Middle East and South Asia.

However, the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) has previously warned against overstating the Strait of Hormuz's importance to the global internet.

In May, it said bandwidth traversing the strait accounted for less than 1% of international bandwidth globally and described the potential risks from disruption as "regional rather than global".

The ICPC said five active submarine cable system segments crossed the strait at the time, with additional systems under development. It added that modern networks are designed so traffic can be rerouted through alternative submarine and land-based connections following outages.

The latest warning comes with the Strait of Hormuz already at the centre of the conflict in the Middle East.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted that Washington, rather than Tehran, controls the strategically important waterway, declaring last month: "We have total control of the Hormuz Strait."

Iran has largely controlled movement through the strait since war broke out on February 28, when the US and Israel carried out joint strikes on key Iranian sites. Tehran responded by targeting US bases and allies across the region and restricting the movement of oil through the strait.

Before the conflict, around 20% of globally traded oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz, making it one of the world's most important energy routes.

Tensions intensified again over the weekend when a tanker carrying two million barrels of oil reportedly struck a mine and caught fire while attempting to travel through the strait.

The IRGC Navy claimed the tanker had switched off its positioning and navigation systems and attempted to use an unauthorised route, declaring: "The Strait of Hormuz is closed."

The claim that the tanker struck a naval mine has not been independently verified.

The incident followed another reported mine strike earlier in the week involving the Singapore-flagged container ship GFS Pride. The vessel caught fire and sank in the strait, while all 21 crew members were safely evacuated.