World · Middle East · 1 hr ago
Iran warns it could target Gulf data centres and internet cables
Iran’s security chief warned that data centres, internet cables and AI facilities could be attacked if war with the United States erupts again.
The warning concerns infrastructure across the Gulf and wider region, where fighting between Yemen’s internationally recognised government and the Houthis is under way.
More than 90 percent of data capacity between Europe and Asia passes through undersea cables in the Red Sea, according to TeleGeography estimates.
Those cables pass through the Bab al-Mandeb strait, where Houthi advances and clashes have raised concerns about their safety.
A disruption could affect several countries at once, because cables and data centres support services such as banking apps and cloud computing.
Data centres in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates were hit during the US-Israel war on Iran, while attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz have continued since active hostilities largely ended under a June memorandum of understanding.
The threat is also intended to deter another US offensive, but no further action or response is specified.
Iran’s security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, warned that regional cables, data centres and AI facilities could be attacked if war with the United States erupts again.
The warning comes amid concerns about internet cables near Yemen’s Red Sea coast, where fighting between the Houthis and Yemen’s internationally recognised government is under way.
More than 90 percent of data capacity between Europe and Asia passes through cables under the Red Sea, according to estimates by TeleGeography.
The Bab al-Mandeb strait, where the cables enter the sea, carries nearly one-fifth of global internet traffic.
Data centres and US business interests were hit in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates during the US-Israel war on Iran.
- Who
- Iran’s security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, issued the warning.
- What
- He warned that cables, data centres and AI facilities across the region could be attacked if war with the United States erupts again.
- When
- The warning was reported on October 13, 2026. The exact date it was made is not stated.
- Where
- Across the region, including Gulf states and the Red Sea cable routes.
- Why
- Not stated
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The war referred to in the article began.
Tasnim reported that the IRGC had published a list of new targets, including cloud infrastructure belonging to Google, Microsoft and Oracle in Israel and some Gulf states.
Iran and the United States reached a memorandum of understanding, after which active hostilities largely ended.
The Houthis captured territory along Yemen’s Red Sea coastline, raising concerns over the safety of internet cables.
Al Jazeera reported Rezaei’s warning about regional digital infrastructure.
- Threatened infrastructure
- Cables, data centres and AI facilities across the region
- Data capacity
- More than 90 percent of Europe-Asia data capacity passes through cables under the Red Sea
- Bab al-Mandeb
- About 26km (16 miles) wide at its narrowest
- Internet traffic
- Nearly one-fifth of global internet traffic passes through Bab al-Mandeb
- Earlier attacks
- Data centres and US business interests were hit in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates during the US-Israel war on Iran
What people are saying
An attack does not necessarily need to destroy the servers themselves to render an entire facility inoperable
are difficult to protect continuously and disruption can affect several countries simultaneously
fundamentally about deterrence
Sources
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