Gulf cable threats could boost Iraq’s internet transit role

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Disruptions to undersea cables in the Gulf could make Iraq a more important route for international internet traffic between Asia and the West, Communications Minister Mustafa Sanad said on Thursday.

Speaking at the 2026 Internet Governance Forum in Baghdad, Sanad said Iraq has alternative international internet links that could help maintain connectivity if other routes are disrupted.

On Sunday, Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, warned that communications cables, data centers, and artificial intelligence facilities across the region could be destroyed if war with the United States resumes.

A day later, Hossein Shariatmadari, editor of the hard-line Kayhan newspaper and the supreme leader’s representative at the paper, backed the threat, calling attacks on fiber-optic cables in the Gulf a “legitimate right” for Iran. He also claimed that about seven major cable systems run along the Gulf seabed and through the Strait of Hormuz, warning that even limited damage could disrupt more than 80% of commercial, banking, and military communications.

Read more: Iran’s undersea cable threat raises risks for Iraq