The Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced on social media on the 18th that after Iran implements management over the Strait of Hormuz, it may declare that all fiber optic cables passing through this waterway must obtain permits, be regulated, and pay sovereign fees.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard claimed that based on the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Iran can, on the grounds of its sovereignty over the territorial sea bed and subsoil, implement permitting, regulation, and charging management measures for submarine cables passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The submarine communications network in the Strait of Hormuz carries more than US$10 trillion (about RM39.74 trillion) of global financial transaction data daily. If this critical maritime communication node is disrupted, it could directly and indirectly cause tens of millions to hundreds of millions of dollars in losses per day to regional and even global economies, finance, and energy supply chains.