Amid rising tensions in West Asia, reports that Iran could target undersea internet cables in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea have triggered global concern.
These submarine cables are the backbone of the digital world, carrying nearly 95 to 97 percent of global internet traffic, including banking transactions, government communications, and business data.
So far, Iran’s pressure tactics ever since the onset of ongoing war, have largely been directed at neighboring Gulf nations.
By threatening shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran has often tried to make Gulf economies and rest of Asia feel the immediate impact of regional conflicts.
But analysts now believe the message is expanding. Security experts warn that damaging these internet cables could have devastating repercussions in entire world.
Global financial systems, stock markets, airline networks, cloud services, and international communications depend heavily on uninterrupted data flow through these undersea routes.
If a major disruption occurs, internet speeds across continents could collapse and digital services could fail.
In an extreme scenario, parts of the world could face a communication breakdown that resembles the pre internet era, effectively pushing global connectivity back by nearly four decades until networks are restored.
Whether the world will face such a doomsday scenario or whether saner minds will push for peace remains to be seen.
Analysts say global leaders, especially Donald Trump, must act before Iran resorts to such a catastrophic step, one that could paralyze global communications and prove more disruptive than many conventional wars.