A spokesman for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Monday that seven major cables beneath the Strait of Hormuz carry the world's internet and commercial data.
IRGC spokesman Brigadier General Hossein Mohebi said the cables support global internet use and commercial data transmission, according to IBTimes UK. He said: "We are reminding them of this so that the enemy knows."
Israel National News reported an IRGC statement on Monday that said "the enemy should know that we have new targets". The statement said seven major internet cables run beneath the strait.
Fars news agency carried similar remarks from an IRGC representative, according to Russia's TASS news agency. The representative said new weapons would be unveiled and new targets identified in the next phase of the war.
According to TASS, the representative also said Iran did not rule out war and that its response this time would be much harsher. He said America would face serious trouble and the world would face a severe energy crisis.
Mr Mohebi also shared an apparent AI-generated image of a missile on X, IBTimes reported.
The remarks were worded as a warning or reminder about the cables. They were not presented as an announced operation. No response from the United States, Gulf states or cable operators had been reported.
The comments followed an earlier warning from Mohsen Rezaei. He said a return to intense fighting could endanger technology infrastructure, including cables, data centres and artificial intelligence facilities. Benzinga, citing Al Jazeera, described Mr Rezaei as head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.
IBTimes cited the cyber-security firm inCyber as saying cables through Hormuz account for less than 1% of global international bandwidth. On that basis, a total outage would be regional rather than global. Mr Mohebi's wording referred to the world's internet.
IBTimes also reported that several Gulf states have few alternative routes for their internet traffic. That would make them more exposed to any disruption in the strait.
The number of cables is also disputed. The International Cable Protection Committee said five active system segments crossed the strait when it made its assessment. Mr Mohebi said seven. IBTimes noted that the two figures are not directly comparable.
Iranian media had raised the issue before. Tasnim news agency, which is linked to the IRGC, earlier named the Falcon, AAE-1, TGN-Gulf and SEA-ME-WE cables as vulnerable, the Jerusalem Post reported. The date of that report was not given.
Tasnim said damage to the cables, whether through accidents or deliberate action, could cause outages. That was an assessment of vulnerability rather than an explicit threat.
The Strait of Hormuz links the Persian Gulf to the open sea. It is about 180 km long and 40 km wide at its narrowest point.
The IRGC is an elite branch of Iran's armed forces. Its navy operates in the strait and uses asymmetric tactics.
The sources refer to a recent war between Iran and the United States, in which Israel was also involved. TASS said Washington then signalled an end to large-scale force and a shift to sanctions.
TASS added that on 10 October the US president did not rule out further strikes.
The sources gave no scheduled event. The IRGC said the next phase of the war would bring new weapons and targets. Any reaction from Washington or Gulf states, or a comment from cable operators or the cable protection committee, would be the next development.
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