By Admin 
Amidst the ongoing war in Iran, a big question is arising whether it can cut the internet cables running under the sea? This is not being considered as a sudden threat, but is being said to be part of a strategy prepared for a long time. First of all it is important to understand the incident of 28 February 2026. As soon as the air strikes by America and Israel started, Iran itself almost shut down its internet. According to reports, internet traffic out of the country fell by about 99 percent. The world was surprised as to why a country would shut down its own internet, but this is where the real thing can be understood.
Iran has its own separate network, which is called National Information Network (NIN). This is a domestic internet system, which is designed in such a way that even if the global internet is shut down, essential services continue to operate within the country. In this, government websites, banking systems, and important communications keep working without interruption.
What happened in Iran when the external internet was shut down?
When the external Internet was closed, the use of networks operating within the country increased. For example, traffic on domestic networks like Afranet suddenly increased significantly. This meant that Iran did not go completely into darkness, but rather isolated itself from the outside world. This system is not new. It started around 2010 and a company like Huawei is considered to have a big role in it. It is said that with the help of this technology, Iran has created a network which can work even if it is isolated from the outside internet. Now the question arises that how can Iran influence the world’s internet? Much of the world’s Internet traffic is carried by undersea cables, many of which pass through the Middle East.
China is behind the digital fort game that has been going on since 2010.
Iran did not get this independence suddenly. Iran had made its plan in 2010, in which Chinese tech company Huawei played the biggest role. According to an investigative report, this project is built on a Huawei-based platform, which cost between $700 million to $1 billion. The report states that Huawei equipment was hidden in 24 containers and transported to Iran to avoid the ban! Iran’s main telecom and cloud infrastructure is now controlled by Huawei. NIN is completely dependent on Huawei’s Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) technology. However, NIN is not completely secure. NIN is currently only 60 percent operational. There were more than 20,000 cyber attacks on Iran during the July 2025 war and the banking system was also affected during the January 2026 protests, but Iran is using every shutdown as a ‘rehearsal’ and its technology is getting better than before.
When and where can Iran cut internet cables?
Iran’s strategy is very simple. A large part of the global Internet passes under the waters of the Middle East. Iran can target it from two major chokepoints, which are Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz. There are 17 submarine cables in the Red Sea which connect Europe, Asia and Africa. In 2024, the cables cut in the Red Sea took 6 months to be repaired even in times of peace. Special repair ships cannot go to the war zone. There are 4 major cables in the Strait of Hormuz. AAE-1, FALCON, Gulf Bridge International and Tata-TGN Gulf. Iran can easily destroy them through underwater naval mines, ship anchors or underwater sabotage. If these cables are cut, Iran will not suffer any loss because their NIN will remain operational. But America, Europe and India will suffer losses worth billions of dollars.
World’s AI dreams and alarm bells for India
On March 1, 2026, Iranian drones attacked three Amazon Web Services (AWS) facilities in the UAE and Bahrain. This was the first time that cloud data centers were directly targeted. Meta has had to stop its big cable projects. AI campuses like the $2.2 trillion ‘Stargate UAE’ in UAE and Saudi Arabia are now caught between the war zone.
India’s biggest weakness
About one-third of India’s westbound internet traffic goes through Hormuz. If the cable is cut, the Indian Navy does not have any dedicated cable repair ship to repair it immediately. Procurement proposals worth Rs 3,000 to ₹4,000 crore (less than the cost of a metro station) are still on hold. The water over the fiber through which cheap internet of Rs 8 per GB comes is currently burning in the fire of war. Tech hubs like Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai need to urgently increase their backup on ‘East-Route Diversification’ (Pacific cables via Singapore) to avoid a 2008-like situation.
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