This development follows warnings from Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, that regional data centers and AI infrastructure worth more than $2 trillion could be destroyed if conflict with the U.S. and Israel restarts. Rezaei recently stated that while Washington has used intermediaries in Pakistan, Qatar, and Iraq to initiate diplomatic contact, negotiations will not resume until the U.S. accepts all seven of Iran's prerequisites.
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
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Iran Plans Sovereignty Fees for Google Meta Undersea Cables
Geopolitics8 days ago
The government in Tehran is exploring new requirements for the licensing and oversight of international data lines that traverse its territorial waters. News outlets Fars and Tasnim report that Iran may require companies such as Google and Meta to pay "sovereignty fees" and submit to technical inspections for cables passing through the Strait of Hormuz, including the GBI and FALCON systems. Tehran is treating the region as a strategic digital chokepoint, given that over 99% of global data traffic relies on undersea cables.
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