Iran Warns 90% of Europe-Asia Data Links Could Be Hit if US War Resumes
Updated
Updated · Al Jazeera English · Oct 13
Iran Warns 90% of Europe-Asia Data Links Could Be Hit if US War Resumes
3 articles · Updated · Al Jazeera English · Oct 13
Summary
Mohsen Rezaei warned that Middle East data centers, internet cables and AI facilities could be attacked if fighting with the United States breaks out again.
More than 90% of Europe-Asia data capacity runs through Red Sea cables entering via Bab al-Mandeb, where fighting in Yemen and recent Houthi territorial moves have sharpened fears over a narrow chokepoint.
Iran has signaled such targets before: the IRGC in March named cloud infrastructure tied to Google, Microsoft and Oracle, and earlier strikes hit AWS-linked facilities in the UAE and Bahrain.
Analysts say cables are hard to protect and data centers are vulnerable through power, cooling and telecom dependencies, making even limited drone or sabotage attacks capable of causing outsized regional disruption.
The threat clouds Gulf ambitions to become an AI and data hub despite multibillion-dollar investments, while pushing traffic and new cable projects toward costlier alternative routes such as Iraq.