TEHRAN PREPARES PLANS TO TARGET UNDERSEA COMMUNICATIONS

TEHRAN, OCTOBER 23 /SRNA-Reuters/ — Tehran has detailed plans to strike subsea communication cables in the Persian Gulf if the United States and Israel attack Iran again, two senior Iranian security officials said.

They also indicated that Iran would block repair efforts following any attack in order to prolong the disruption to communications, including internet traffic.

"If Iran is attacked, there will be no limits anymore, from subsea cables to military bases, including secret ones," one of the officials stated.

He warned Washington not to play with fire, stating that Iran has full access to the subsea cables and can easily destroy them.

Yadollah Javani, Deputy Political Affairs Director for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps /IRGC/, stated yesterday that Iran could target seven major internet cables beneath the Strait of Hormuz if Iranian infrastructure is targeted.

According to the International Telecommunication Union /ITU/, the specialized UN agency for telecommunications, subsea cables carry approximately 99 percent of global internet traffic.

However, Alan Mauldin, an official at TeleGeography, believes the global impact of such Iranian attacks could be limited, as only one percent of international internet traffic passes through the Strait of Hormuz