Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
US President Donald Trump said Washington could launch another military operation against Iran, raising the prospect of renewed attacks as the conflict approaches its eighth month. Tehran, meanwhile, has drawn up plans to target undersea communications cables in the Gulf if the United States and Israel resume their military campaign, according to Iranian security officials cited by Reuters.
“We may do another little Epic Fury,” Trump said at a rally in Florida on Friday, referring to the name given by the US military to its war against Iran, which began on February 28. He did not elaborate on the possibility of another operation.
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The remarks came amid uncertainty over the war’s duration, rising fuel prices and concerns about the economic and regional fallout of any fresh escalation. Thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced in US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
TRUMP SAYS US COULD END WAR QUICKLY
Earlier on Friday, Trump said the United States could bring the war to an end quickly but questioned whether Washington should pursue an immediate conclusion or allow the conflict to gradually lose momentum.
“We could end it very quickly,” Trump told reporters on the White House South Lawn. “Do we want to finish it or let it wither is the question.”
He also said oil was continuing to move through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for global energy supplies, adding, “We are getting everything we want.”
Trump has offered shifting goals and timelines for the conflict. Earlier this month, he said the United States would not launch an attack on Iran before next month’s midterm elections, in which control of Congress is at stake. The comments came as Washington and Tehran were reportedly engaged in discussions on ending the war.
A report by The New York Times on Wednesday said US and Israeli militaries had drawn up plans for renewed strikes after the midterm elections. Citing US officials, it said potential targets included Iran’s energy infrastructure, nuclear facilities and missile and drone arsenal.
FRANCE, TURKEY WARN AGAINST RENEWED ESCALATION
Foreign ministers from several countries warned on Friday that another military offensive against Iran could widen the conflict and trigger further economic consequences. Their comments followed a meeting in Istanbul attended by representatives from Britain, France, Germany, Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Italy.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said a fresh attack would exacerbate tensions and expand the war across the region, stressing that diplomacy and dialogue were the only way to end the conflict.
“We are all in agreement that a new attack on Iran would expand the war in the region,” Fidan said. “A military intervention on Iran is not in any way a solution. Nobody approves this at the moment.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot also cautioned against further escalation, warning that it would leave no winners and could push up oil prices.
“A further escalation between Iran and the United States would leave no winners and would likely have very serious consequences for hydrocarbon prices,” Barrot said.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Germany, France and Britain were ready to negotiate with Iran to ensure it does not acquire nuclear weapons. The ministers also discussed support for Saudi Arabia and Yemen and the possibility of resuming concrete negotiations with Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
Turkey, a NATO member, has remained in contact with Washington, Tehran and regional mediators in an effort to end the war. Fidan said the countries had discussed possible parameters to prevent the conflict from spreading further, without providing details.
IRAN DRAWS UP PLANS TO TARGET UNDERSEA CABLES
As fears of renewed military action grow, Tehran has prepared detailed plans to target undersea communications cables in the Gulf if the United States and Israel attack Iran again, two senior Iranian security officials told Reuters.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, gave few details about how or where Iran might carry out such attacks. One said Tehran would seek to prevent repairs after any cable cuts, prolonging disruptions to internet connections and other communications.
“If Iran is attacked, there will be no more red lines … from undersea cables to military bases, including covert ones,” one official said, warning Washington not to “play with fire”. The official claimed Iran had full access to the cables and could destroy them.
Yadollah Javani, deputy head of political affairs for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), said on Wednesday that Iran could target seven major internet cables beneath the Strait of Hormuz if Iranian infrastructure came under attack.
The threats reflect concerns within Iran’s leadership that any renewed US military campaign would have to be met with a stronger response than the previous offensive. Iranian security official Mohsen Rezaei has also warned that US-linked digital infrastructure across the Gulf, including data centres and artificial intelligence facilities, could be targeted.
The second Iranian official said Gulf countries, which have invested heavily in technology infrastructure, should hold Washington responsible for any damage to undersea cables.
Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran programme at the Middle East Institute in Washington, said the threats appeared aimed at deterring another conflict by making Gulf governments and US companies concerned about the risks to their investments.
“Tehran wants Gulf states and corporate executives to press Trump over the risks his policies pose to their investment plans,” Vatanka said.
HOW CABLE ATTACKS COULD DISRUPT INTERNET SERVICES
Undersea cables carry around 99 per cent of global internet traffic, according to the International Telecommunication Union, a United Nations agency. However, the impact of attacks in the Strait of Hormuz on global connectivity could be limited because less than 1 per cent of international bandwidth passes through the strait, said Alan Mauldin, research director at telecommunications research firm TeleGeography.
Multiple cable cuts could nevertheless slow internet services and disrupt financial transactions, e-commerce and cloud computing. The extent of the disruption would depend on how quickly operators could reroute traffic and whether alternative networks had enough capacity.
Repairs could prove especially difficult during wartime, with higher insurance costs and delays in securing permits to enter territorial waters potentially prolonging outages.
The Red Sea could offer a more significant target than the Strait of Hormuz, particularly if Iran received support from its Houthi allies in Yemen. Tehran has not publicly indicated that it intends to target cables in the Red Sea. According to Mauldin, routes through the waterway account for about 3 per cent of global international demand and roughly 10 per cent of traffic travelling between regions.
GULF TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENTS AT RISK
Gulf countries have invested heavily in technology infrastructure as they seek to diversify their economies beyond oil and establish themselves as global artificial intelligence hubs. Those ambitions have also deepened their ties with US technology companies.
Iranian strikes directly hit two Amazon Web Services facilities in the United Arab Emirates in March and damaged infrastructure near one of its facilities in Bahrain. At the height of the war that month, the IRGC also named US technology companies, including Microsoft, Google, Apple and Nvidia, as legitimate targets.
Land-based connections can offer alternative routes for internet traffic, while Gulf governments and US technology firms are investing in additional infrastructure to improve network resilience.
Microsoft plans to invest more than $400 million in subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the Middle East by 2030.
– Ends
With inputs from Reuters
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
