UN Tech Agency Moves to Protect Submarine Cables as Tensions Heighten Risks

By Maurizio Arseni, Geneva Solutions
May 6, 2026

Beneath the contested waters of the Strait of Hormuz, five fibre optic submarine cable systems connect Europe, Asia and the Gulf, carrying vast volumes of internet traffic. The US-Israeli war with Iran has placed them in unprecedented danger.

At the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) council this week in Geneva, Gulf countries denounced direct strikes on a UAE cable landing station in late March, the suspension of cable projects in April, including sections of Meta’s 2Africa project, and rising insurance costs. Iran’s Defence Council is threatening to deploy sea mines across the Gulf, heightening concerns.

A hidden backbone under threat

While space’s fast-expanding satellite networks have fuelled the belief that the internet lives mainly in the cloud, the bulk of the world’s data still travels along the ocean floor. Stretching 1.5 million kilometres – nearly four times the distance to the Moon – these cables, no wider than a garden hose, are the backbone of the digital economy.

The rise in conflict and tensions has exposed how vulnerable they are. In 2024, a vessel struck by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea drifted for two weeks before sinking, its dragging anchor severing three cables and cutting internet access for more than 100 million people across West and North Africa. A second incident in September 2025 damaged four more cables, one of which is still out of service.

In the Baltic Sea, a string of suspicious incidents in which data cables have been damaged or severed has triggered investigations into possible sabotage, with one of the suspected vessels connected to Russia’s shadow fleet and another identified as China-linked. Proof of any wrongdoing, though, is inconclusive.

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