Iran Demands Google and Microsoft Pay Fees for Submarine Cable Through the Hormuz Strait

Iran will impose charges on submarine internet cables laid beneath the Hormuz Strait. US tech companies including Meta, Google, Amazon and Microsoft will be subject to the new policy. ‘We will impose charges on the cables,’ said Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman for Iran’s military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, cited by Ars Technica on Thursday, 21 May 2026. However there has been no further explanation on how Iran would implement or enforce the new rules. Two government-affiliated media outlets, Tasnim and Fars, revealed more detailed proposals. The Guardian, citing those reports, said the information included how Iran would licence US technology companies for the use and maintenance of the submarine cables. Tasnim’s report mentioned licensing fees for the use of the cables. It also stated that only Iran would be permitted to repair and maintain the submarine cables located in the Hormuz Strait. TeleGeography, a telecommunications research organisation, notes the active cables in the Hormuz Strait serve Gulf states in the surrounding region, some of which belong to FALCON and Gulf Bridge. CNN International also reported on Iran’s state media issuing veiled threats about damage to the submarine cable. TeleGeography added that data traffic in Europe and Asia would not be affected by issues in the Hormuz Strait, since the submarine cables serving those continents run in the Red Sea. However Ars Technica noted that submarine cables in the Red Sea area have not been without problems, including several incidents of damage in recent years, partly due to long repair times and the Houthi insurgency.