How realistic is threat of Iran charging to use internet cables under strait of Hormuz?

The Guardian · May 18, 2026 Sanctions

Plan floated in Iranian media to extract revenues from US tech firms would rely on intimidation and is legally dubious Could undersea cables – the sinews of the global internet – become the next frontier in the US-Israel war against Iran ? Last week, two Iranian state-linked media channels, Tasnim and Fars, suggested Iran could leverage its power over the strait of Hormuz, the 25-mile (40km) stretch between Iran and Oman, by charging US tech companies to use the internet cables that traverse the strait. Tasnim implied this could be a lucrative proposition, netting Iran hundreds of millions of dollars each year.

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