NewsMacroSenior Iranian Official Threatens Attacks on Regional Cables, Data Centers and AI Facilities if War Escalates

Senior Iranian Official Threatens Attacks on Regional Cables, Data Centers and AI Facilities if War Escalates

Author: Fortune Crypto·

Key Takeaways

  • •Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said Iran is no longer responding to the U.S. and that Washington must clarify outstanding issues, noting the U.S. has accepted some of Iran's seven conditions.
  • •Rezaei threatened attacks on regional undersea cables, data centers, and AI facilities if intense fighting resumes, and Iran's Revolutionary Guard navy warned ships in the Strait of Hormuz that disable navigation systems would be identified as hostile.
  • •Avichai Mandelblit, the former attorney general who handpicked by Netanyahu indicted him seven years ago on fraud, breach of trust, and bribery charges, testified in the corruption trial weeks before Israel's Oct. 27 election.
  • •Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for a second projectile strike on the passenger terminal at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport, which caused injuries days after a Saturday attack that killed 12 people.
  • •One year after the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, central Gaza residents found at least 10 residences housing roughly 300 families reduced to rubble by strikes that Israel's military said targeted militant infrastructure, including a rocket launch site and Hamas command center.
Senior Iranian Official Threatens Attacks on Regional Cables, Data Centers and AI Facilities if War Escalates

A senior Iranian official says Tehran finds the latest U.S. response to a proposal to end the war “insufficient,” and warns of attacks on regional data centers and cables if fighting intensifies again. Meanwhile, Israel’s former attorney general took the witness stand in the corruption cases against Benjamin Netanyahu, whose political future hangs in the balance with elections weeks away.

Iran Deems U.S. Response “Insufficient”

Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and a former Revolutionary Guard commander, said Tehran finds the latest response from the United States “insufficient” as negotiations to end the war and fully open the Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint that carries a large share of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments — limp along. His comments were carried by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency.

Rezaei added that Iran is no longer responding to the U.S. and that Washington must clarify certain issues, without giving details. He said the U.S. has accepted some of Iran’s seven conditions, while others remain unclear.

Iran’s delegation to the annual U.N. gathering of world leaders last month proposed a sped-up agreement that echoed the memorandum of understanding that collapsed days after the U.S. and Iran signed it in June. The new proposal was rejected, but the two sides have remained in contact via mediation.

Rezaei also threatened “cables, data centers, AI facilities and other sites in the region” if intense fighting breaks out again. The threat puts a spotlight on the Gulf’s rapidly built-out digital backbone: undersea cables carry the vast majority of intercontinental internet traffic, and regional governments have made data centers and AI infrastructure a centerpiece of their economic diversification plans.

Meanwhile, the Guard’s navy warned that any ship on the strait that turns off navigation and identification systems would be “identified as hostile,” according to an IRNA report. Attacks on ships transiting the strait have increased since Iran’s proposal was rejected, with one attack reported Sunday.

Former Prosecutor Testifies in Netanyahu Corruption Trial

Israel’s former attorney general took the witness stand in Netanyahu’s long-running corruption trial.

Avichai Mandelblit indicted the prime minister seven years ago for fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes — the first-ever charges against a sitting Israeli prime minister. Netanyahu was in the courtroom to hear Mandelblit testify.

The prime minister handpicked Mandelblit, his former Cabinet secretary, for the attorney general job. Mandelblit’s tenure ended in 2022.

Netanyahu has been accused of offering or exchanging favors with wealthy associates and media moguls for political gain. He denies any wrongdoing.

Houthis Strike Riyadh Airport Terminal Again

A projectile struck the same passenger terminal at the Riyadh international airport that was hit on Saturday. The airport had been closed after that attack, which killed 12 people, but Saudi authorities reported injuries in the latest strike.

Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed responsibility for both attacks on King Khalid International Airport, which has been targeted every since Wednesday.

Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, the Houthis’ military spokesperson, urged “everyone to take our warnings seriously” about the risks of flying in Saudi airspace. Such warnings have repeatedly led airlines to suspend or reroute flights in conflict zones, making civil aviation a pressure point that extends well beyond the immediate battlefield.

The attacks have marked a major escalation in the war between the Houthis and the kingdom, and have complicated efforts to halt the U.S.-Iran war.

Gaza Residents Return to Rubble a Year After Ceasefire

Residents in central Gaza returned home to assess the damage caused by Israeli strikes after they had been warned to evacuate the day before.

Bassam Abed said at least 10 residences housing some 300 families were reduced to rubble, and that families were not given enough time to flee. “Women slept outdoors. We did not take clothes,” Abed said.

Israel’s military said it had targeted militant infrastructure, including a rocket launch site and a command center used by Hamas militants to attack soldiers.

One year after Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire deal, Israel continues to launch near-daily strikes.

Netanyahu Orders Investigation of “NAZA” Documentary

Netanyahu has asked the attorney general and the head of the Shin Bet security service to investigate people who participated in the new documentary “NAZA,” in which Israeli military insiders describe what they say was the reckless killing of civilians in Gaza.

Netanyahu said the film, which debuted at the Venice Film Festival to a record 25-minute standing ovation, tells “a false, misleading and biased story that slanders the State of Israel” and its military.

The documentary has angered and unsettled Israelis, whose view of the war in Gaza differs sharply from that of much of the world, where criticism of Israel’s actions in the Palestinian territory has grown.

Netanyahu is fighting to stay in power in the Oct. 27 election, in which security is a major issue.

Lebanon Says Retired Officer Killed by Israeli Tank

Lebanon’s army said it had recovered the body of a retired army officer who was killed by Israeli artillery fire while checking on his property in the southern town of Yater.

The army said Ali Abdul Hassan Sweidan was “directly targeted by a hostile Israeli tank” and called it “a flagrant violation of existing understandings.” An Israeli military spokesperson said they were not aware of the incident.

Israel has occupied a large swath of southern Lebanon since the outbreak of its latest war with the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in March.

This article originally appeared on Fortune.