Iran demands Big Tech pay fees for undersea Internet cables in Strait of Hormuz

Iran's claim over subsea chokepoint pushes US tech companies to overland fiber.

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[danicat]

Iran is damaging its own interests by boorishly claiming to own Strait of Hormuz territory to which it is not entitled (see The Strait of Hormuz, shipping, and law) and by doing everything possible to interfere with free commerce. What will happen is that the rest of the world will find (and implement) many ways to bypass Iran. Iran's markets will disappear.

 

[SeanJW]

Iran is damaging its own interests by boorishly claiming to own Strait of Hormuz territory to which it is not entitled (see Freedom of Navigation in the South China Sea: A Practical Guide) and by doing everything possible to interfere with free commerce. What will happen is that the rest of the world will find (and implement) many ways to bypass Iran. Iran's markets will disappear.

The countries that use the Strait don't really have alternatives. Iran has no real markets (it's under trade embargoes). That is the whole point.

Some of the traffic can go to the Red Sea. Which is also under threat from Iran proxies. Which is even more damaging if those proxies were actually as effective as Iran itself is (just look what happens when a ship accidentally blocks the Suez). It's bad enough as it is.

 

[canwaf]

Iran is damaging its own interests by boorishly claiming to own Strait of Hormuz territory to which it is not entitled (see The Strait of Hormuz, shipping, and law) and by doing everything possible to interfere with free commerce. What will happen is that the rest of the world will find (and implement) many ways to bypass Iran. Iran's markets will disappear.

Where could Iran have gotten the idea for tolls on internationally navigable waters? No idea at all, especially when suggesting such things run counter to their respective national interests.

 

[photovirus]

Iran is damaging its own interests by boorishly claiming to own Strait of Hormuz territory to which it is not entitled (see The Strait of Hormuz, shipping, and law) and by doing everything possible to interfere with free commerce. What will happen is that the rest of the world will find (and implement) many ways to bypass Iran. Iran's markets will disappear.

I'd say they don't have much choice.

They've been aggressively and unprovokedly attacked by the US, on the background of US-Iran conflict dragging for half a century.

They have to fight back by any means possible.

 

[SimonW]

Well how about, as an alternative, we relocate all telecommunications into space using a gigantic fleet of small satellites. Because I don't see any problem with those whatsoev....oh

 

[MilanKraft]

Iran is damaging its own interests by boorishly claiming to own Strait of Hormuz territory to which it is not entitled (see The Strait of Hormuz, shipping, and law) and by doing everything possible to interfere with free commerce. What will happen is that the rest of the world will find (and implement) many ways to bypass Iran. Iran's markets will disappear.

Where could Iran have gotten the idea for tolls on internationally navigable waters? No idea at all, especially when suggesting such things run counter to their respective national interests.

Both things are true. Everything Trump sees is about money — doesn't matter if it's a fee for passing a strait, controlling Venezuelan oil, or whatever else. He gives zero fucks about anything that isn't a potential money-making scheme or cultivating his Joe Bravado image.

As for Iran, plenty of bad actors and self-defeating tactics to go around, going back decades. There are no good guys in this war, sadly. And the only possible good result is one the world probably won't get: some form of UN-implemented shut-down of Iran's centrifuge facilities in exchange for some form of normalcy returning to their people.

 

[dgoldford]

The orange felon's poll numbers are plunging due to high fuel prices. This will hopefully result in many very highly motivated voters delivering a huge Democratic landslide on November 3rd.

 

[FranzJoseph]

Both things are true. Everything Trump sees is about money — doesn't matter if it's a fee for passing a strait, controlling Venezuelan oil, or whatever else. He gives zero fucks about anything that isn't a potential money-making scheme or cultivating his Joe Bravado image.

As for Iran, plenty of bad actors and self-defeating tactics to go around, going back decades. There are no good guys in this war, sadly.

As much as I hate the ayatollah regime, they are simply the more "good‑ish" guys here, since it was Iran that was unprovokedly attacked by Israel and the US, with thousands of civilians killed.

And the only possible good result is one the world probably won't get: some form of UN-implemented shut-down of Iran's centrifuge facilities in exchange for some form of normalcy returning to their people.

You mean like the one that actually worked pretty well, the one negotiated by Obama? Good luck with that under Trump.

 

[JaneDoe]

Iran is damaging its own interests by boorishly claiming to own Strait of Hormuz territory to which it is not entitled (see The Strait of Hormuz, shipping, and law) [...]

Your own link seems to support that claim by Iran.
The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) covers free access to shipping lanes, but neither the US nor Iran is a party to UNCLOS. So Iran has full authority to its waters and the shipping lanes in it. There seems to be no shipping lane not using Iranian waters for some part of the lane.

 

[SolarMane]

Iran is damaging its own interests by boorishly claiming to own Strait of Hormuz territory to which it is not entitled (see The Strait of Hormuz, shipping, and law) and by doing everything possible to interfere with free commerce. What will happen is that the rest of the world will find (and implement) many ways to bypass Iran. Iran's markets will disappear.

This is fantasy. Iran has nothing to lose. It has been under heavy sanctions for decades. Countries that would bypass Iran have already done so to avoid the sanctions, and countries that are still doing business with Iran do not care what it does in the Strait of Hormuz.

 

[Nora Lenderbee]

I'm no fan of Iran, but Trump is finding out about the consequences of a poorly considered plan. Certain acronyms and phrases come to mind. FAFO, FUBAR, "Bull in a China Shop", and "Elections have consequences." Sigh.

 

[Cthel]

Does the Art of the Deal say whether the other party in negotiations adding new demands is a good or a bad sign?

 

[Bacterially Sound]

South Park, the comedy that speaks ever more absolute truth.

The devil is in the detail.

 

[Nora Lenderbee]

Does the Art of the Deal say whether the other party in negotiations adding new demands is a good or a bad sign?

Perhaps we should ask the ghost writer who wrote the book. I wonder if Trump ever read it?

 

[olgrandad]

And the only possible good result is one the world probably won't get: some form of UN-implemented shut-down of Iran's centrifuge facilities in exchange for some form of normalcy returning to their people.

Been tried and failed. Don't forget the EU+US had a nuclear agreement where Iran shutdown all centrifuge activity and sent all fuel to Russia, but the Bush administration said that wasn't good enough. So they sanctioned Iran, broke the agreement, and then threatened the EU to do the same or face the consequences. So the EU broke the agreement and when Iran started enriching again, they all pointed at Iran and said, "See, they broke the agreement!"

The fact is that Iran had a weapons oriented nuclear program until 2003, when they saw the US devastate Iraq with little effort. It was eye-opening for them and the Ayatollah (the one that was just assassinated) declared, via fatwa, an end to nuclear weapons research. Interestingly, fatwas apparently lose effectiveness when the person that issued them dies... Anyway, the Pentagon confirmed, and continues to do so to this very day, that Iran stopped nuclear weapons research in 2003. We had a perfect situation, but we wanted more. We wanted total capitulation. We wanted an American anointed leadership, totally compliant with US goals.

Iran has no motivation to stop enrichment outside of Trump's threat of genocide. They've been dealing with, and working around, sanctions for 50 years. They can outlast Trump. I'm watching gas rise to $4.50/gal in my area. Once the strategic reserves run dry in a few weeks we'll be pushing $6-7/gal. If Trump were smart he'd have waited until after the midterms to launch this illegal war.

 

[GCamomescro]

Iran is damaging its own interests by boorishly claiming to own Strait of Hormuz territory to which it is not entitled (see The Strait of Hormuz, shipping, and law) and by doing everything possible to interfere with free commerce. What will happen is that the rest of the world will find (and implement) many ways to bypass Iran. Iran's markets will disappear.

Trump isn't legally permitted to wage war, yet here we are. Pot, meet Kettle.
I don't agree with what Iran is doing, but I can understand it.

 

[photovirus]

Interestingly, fatwas apparently lose effectiveness when the person that issued them dies...

As far as I researched, they do not. (I'm obviously not a Muslim.)

They might be revised, though, but you'd need some solid ground for that. A fatwa is a Quran interpretation, after all.

 

[Tonkaman]

Been tried and failed. Don't forget the EU+US had a nuclear agreement where Iran shutdown all centrifuge activity and sent all fuel to Russia, but the Bush administration said that wasn't good enough. So they sanctioned Iran, broke the agreement, and then threatened the EU to do the same or face the consequences. So the EU broke the agreement and when Iran started enriching again, they all pointed at Iran and said, "See, they broke the agreement!"

The fact is that Iran had a weapons oriented nuclear program until 2003, when they saw the US devastate Iraq with little effort. It was eye-opening for them and the Ayatollah (the one that was just assassinated) declared, via fatwa, an end to nuclear weapons research. Interestingly, fatwas apparently lose effectiveness when the person that issued them dies... Anyway, the Pentagon confirmed, and continues to do so to this very day, that Iran stopped nuclear weapons research in 2003. We had a perfect situation, but we wanted more. We wanted total capitulation. We wanted an American anointed leadership, totally compliant with US goals.

Iran has no motivation to stop enrichment outside of Trump's threat of genocide. They've been dealing with, and working around, sanctions for 50 years. They can outlast Trump. I'm watching gas rise to $4.50/gal in my area. Once the strategic reserves run dry in a few weeks we'll be pushing $6-7/gal. If Trump were smart he'd have waited until after the midterms to launch this illegal war.

And in addition to high gas prices, we're looking at shortages of lubricants. Get your oil changes done now. Autozone put out an internal memo to stores that they expect to run out of engine oil in a few months.

 

[Derecho Imminent]

 

[lwdj905]

Both things are true. Everything Trump sees is about money — doesn't matter if it's a fee for passing a strait, controlling Venezuelan oil, or whatever else. He gives zero fucks about anything that isn't a potential money-making scheme or cultivating his Joe Bravado image.

As for Iran, plenty of bad actors and self-defeating tactics to go around, going back decades. There are no good guys in this war, sadly. And the only possible good result is one the world probably won't get: some form of UN-implemented shut-down of Iran's centrifuge facilities in exchange for some form of normalcy returning to their people.

Iran is a Triadic internal game with the IRGC, Theocracy, and general population vying for various levels of "control". Add in the External Triadic of Iran, U.S. (various allies) and Russia/China (their allied entites) and there is no solution. Had the US been able to get China to defect in some manner, say replacing the 15% of oil imported from Iran at the same $7-8 below market... possibly? Russia needs drones, Iran has them... so no defection (Even if Trump and Putin were buddies? Which we know to not be the case.)

The required "boots on ground" to locate and remove most of the nuclear material would just end in 1000's of casualties.

This was never well thought out by the White House., who don''t undertand the difference between "superiority" and "supremacy".

 

[shanoboye]

https://theconversation.com/what-is-a-fatwa-a-religious-studies-professor-explains-188866

Fatwas are nonbinding. Muslims are not required to follow their guidance. The force of a fatwa derives from the authority, trust and respect accorded to the clerics, scholars or institutions who issue them. With this authority comes the power to shape the religious and social norms of the fatwa-requesting community. Like anyone in a position of power, issuers of fatwas can use or misuse their authority to hand down rulings meant to achieve political ends.

 

[TimeWinder]

Trump isn't legally permitted to wage war, yet here we are. Pot, meet Kettle.
I don't agree with what Iran is doing, but I can understand it.

Trump isn't legally permitted TO BE PRESIDENT, yet here we are...

 

[photovirus]

Russia needs drones, Iran has them...

Nitpick: Iran doesn't supply drones to Russia anymore. Russia began domesticating the production immediately, with significant changes noticeable by mid-2023.

 

[ngoncalves]

As much as I hate the ayatollah regime, they are simply the more "good‑ish" guys here, since it was Iran that was unprovokedly attacked by Israel and the US, with thousands of civilians killed.

You mean like the one that actually worked pretty well, the one negotiated by Obama? Good luck with that under Trump.

Irans killed thousands of its own people in January, before the war. And it never stopped screaming out loud that their goal was to destroy Israel, funding whoever was up to it and getting weapon grade nuclear material in the process.

I cannot see the Iranian regime as the "good-ish" guys. Israel and the US have shitty governments, and there is plenty to criticize (ICE killings in the US, settlers violence in Israel e.g.). But they are not even in the same galaxy when it comes to the brutality and hate promoted by the Iranian regime.

 

[shanoboye]

While the coastal states enjoy sovereignty over their territorial seas in most aspects, an original limitation to that sovereignty applies – they must accept an enhanced right of ‘transit passage’ for shipping of all nations... transit passage guarantees un-suspendable passage to all ships that may not be ‘impeded’ in any way by the coastal state. That right applies in peace and war... charging a ‘toll’ is in further violation of the transit passage regime. In fact, even in relation to the lesser regime of innocent passage which Iran (wrongfully) seeks to apply, the law of the sea quite expressly prohibits the charging of any fee simply for right of passage.... Iran charges no tariff to what it regards as friendly states. This offends against the express legal requirement that the right of passage must not be subjected to discriminatory considerations.... Iran cannot unilaterally re-route traffic away from the established sea lanes deeper into its territorial waters. Iran is a member of the IMO, and sea lanes through major straits are established in consultation between the relevant coastal states and the IMO.... neither the US nor Iran can impose the extent and modalities of a right of passage through the Strait of Hormuz. This is a matter of global regulation affecting the rights of all states. These rights cannot be diminished or negotiated away by two states.

https://www.chathamhouse.org/2026/04/strait-hormuz-shipping-and-law

 

[AJ_Grey]

Trump has been very good at is disruption - Disruption of norms, policies, alliances. The outcomes have been mixed but it’s harder to hit a moving target. Iran is doing the same thing- disruption at every level to create chaos and the only answer Trump has had is more bluster and threats. The optics are giving Iran a disproportionate position of strength.

 

[big-ted]

The Weak and Incompetent Iranian Regime—which has zero respect for our Country—is secretly planning a major attack on the Undersea Internet Cables in the Strait of Hormuz. Total disaster! They want to shut down the global economy and stop our beautiful internet. NOT ON MY WATCH!

I have just ordered our great Military to completely DESTROY those exact same cables before Iran even gets the chance. We are taking them out early, cleanly, and decisively! You have to hit them before they hit you—it’s called SMART DEFENSE! The Radical Left and the Fake News Media will cry, but we are protecting American Interests and putting AMERICA FIRST. Nobody does it better than us, nobody!

/s

 

[HyperionAlphaMAX]

Irans killed thousands of its own people in January, before the war. And it never stopped screaming out loud that their goal was to destroy Israel, funding whoever was up to it and getting weapon grade nuclear material in the process.

I cannot see the Iranian regime as the "good-ish" guys. Israel and the US have shitty governments, and there is plenty to criticize (ICE killings in the US, settlers violence in Israel e.g.). But they are not even in the same galaxy when it comes to the brutality and hate promoted by the Iranian regime.

It's as if two things can be bad, and one can be more bad than the other!

I hate Social Media for making people think "if one side good, other side bad" sort of thing.

 

[AnotherBelgian]

The orange felon's poll numbers are plunging due to high fuel prices. This will hopefully result in many very highly motivated voters delivering a huge Democratic landslide on November 3rd.

... and nothing will change ...

 

[Tonkaman]

Not sure what the point is of quoting the law when Iran is for intents and purposes an outlaw state.

So is the US for most of the last century. International law only applies to non superpowers.

 

[iquanyin]

Perhaps we should ask the ghost writer who wrote the book. I wonder if Trump ever read it?

i was literally just recalling how, when it became clear trump might actually win in 2016, the ghostwriter decided to go public, warning us that trump not only didn't write it, he was not a good business guy and would make a terrible president. he advised not voting trump.

as i mulled the memeory, i looked scrolled to next comment and bam! there is yours on that very topic. uncanny. "great minds" and all, i guess.