The key facts

  • IRGC: seven major internet cables run under the Strait of Hormuz, through which, according to Mohebbi, all internet and commercial traffic passes
  • Mohebbi: 'new targets will be unveiled, new weapons will be unveiled'; earlier Rezaei suggested strikes on cables, data centers and AI facilities in the event of a new war
  • The US and Israel war against Iran began on February 28; in June a memorandum with the US on freedom of navigation was signed, but its implementation has stalled

IRGC statement on cables and 'new targets'

Hossein Mohebbi, a representative of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), warned on Monday that new targets and new weapons will be unveiled, drawing attention to the main undersea internet cables passing through the Strait of Hormuz, amid tensions with the US. 'Seven major internet cables pass under the Strait of Hormuz,' Mohebbi said, claiming that all internet and commercial traffic passes through them. 'We simply want them to know: new targets will be unveiled. New weapons will be unveiled,' he added. The remarks, as reported by Iranian state broadcaster IRIB, were made at a ceremony at the Tehran Sacred Defense Museum. Mohebbi also promised to expel from the region what he called the remnants of American influence.

Earlier — Rezaei's statements about US infrastructure

In early October, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Mohsen Rezaei said on state broadcaster Press TV that Tehran, in the event of a new war, could attack undersea internet cables, data centers and artificial intelligence facilities linked to the US. 'We have not yet included these assets among our targets,' Rezaei said, warning that such infrastructure could be destroyed if the conflict resumes.

Context of the conflict and the memorandum

According to the agency, the US and Israel began the war against Iran on February 28. Tehran responded with missile and drone strikes across the region and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, while Washington later imposed a naval blockade of Iranian ports. Subsequently, the US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding in June on freedom of navigation in the strait, but its implementation has stalled due to disagreements over security issues on this strategic waterway.