[Gulf Region's AI Computing Power Expansion Faces Communication Risks Due to Iran's Threat to Strike Undersea Cables] BlockBeats reports that on October 24, two senior Iranian security officials revealed that Iran has formulated plans to strike undersea communication cables in the Gulf should the US and Israel launch another attack. One of them stated that Iran would also block repairs to prolong the communication disruption. Officials from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have previously threatened to strike seven major internet cables under the Strait of Hormuz if Iranian infrastructure is attacked. These threats add new communication risks to the Gulf region's cloud computing and AI infrastructure. Reuters reports that previous Iranian attacks have hit two Amazon AWS facilities in the UAE and damaged infrastructure near one of its facilities in Bahrain. Analysts point out that simultaneous damage to multiple cables could disrupt financial transactions, e-commerce, and cloud computing services, but the actual impact depends on traffic diversion capabilities and backup line capacity. Since international bandwidth crossing the Strait of Hormuz accounts for less than 1% of global bandwidth, the direct impact on global communications may be limited. Microsoft plans to invest over $10 billion in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait by 2030, and allocate over $400 million to improve undersea and terrestrial network connectivity in the Middle East to enhance the resilience of its digital infrastructure. [Original Link]