Iran floats plan to levy tolls on undersea fiber-optic cables in the Strait of Hormuz

In a bold move that threatens to extend maritime geopolitical friction into cyberspace, Iran is considering a framework to assert sovereignty over and collect annual infrastructure fees from foreign operators of undersea internet cables passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

The strategy, aggressively socialized by media affiliates of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) including Fars and Tasnim, was elevated to parliament this week when senior lawmaker Hossein Ali Hajideligani declared the waterway a "God-given treasure" that Tehran must monetize to counteract crippling economic pressure.

Redefining the Maritime chokepoint

The Strait of Hormuz is globally notorious as an energy transit artery, carrying roughly one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas. However, it also serves as a critical "digital chokepoint." The narrow seabed beneath the strait hosts at least seven major submarine fiber-optic networks, including the FALCON, GBI, and Gulf-TGN lines. These act as the physical backbone for more than 95% of the internet traffic, financial data, and cloud computing flowing between Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

The IRGC's legal justification relies on a specific interpretation of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Seeing as the strait is only 21 nautical miles wide at its narrowest corridor, Iran’s 12-nautical-mile territorial sea claim completely overlaps with Oman's.

Tasnim argued that laying cables without explicit Iranian authorization amounts to "occupying Iranian soil underwater," nullifying traditional transit passage assumptions.

Demanding "protection fees" from tech giants

Under the proposed model, foreign consortia and Western "hyperscalers", such as Google, Microsoft, and Amazon, which heavily rely on these data corridors, would face stringent new realities:

• Per-meter licensing: Operators would be forced to secure Iranian licenses and pay recurring royalties based on the length of cable traversing Iranian-controlled seabed.

• Forced partnerships: Foreign tech firms would be legally compelled to partner with local Iranian technology companies to maintain visibility over regional traffic.

• Exclusive maintenance: The IRGC-linked media insists that all undersea cable repairs must be handed exclusively to Iranian engineering firms, framing it as a way to slash current 45-day regional repair averages to under two weeks.

Geopolitical Leverage Amid Regional Conflict

The timing of the rhetorical escalation is highly calculated. Following a U.S. naval barricade and joint military strikes that have largely paralyzed commercial shipping in the strait since mid-April, Tehran is actively searching for asymmetric points of leverage.

Cybersecurity experts and international observers view the toll proposal less as a viable regulatory framework and more as a thinly veiled "protection fee" or gray-zone threat.

By reminding the global economy that billions of dollars in daily financial transactions run through a "jugular vein" within reach of Iranian diving teams and anchor-drop saboteurs, Tehran is signalling that it can disrupt the global digital economy without firing a shot.

While Western legal experts point out massive structural weaknesses in Iran's interpretation of maritime law, particularly since Tehran has signed but never formally ratified UNCLOS, the institutional push indicates that digital infrastructure is no longer being treated as neutral utility lines, but as active levers of state power.