Deputy communications minister says war-damaged undersea cables are under repair and traffic is shifting to northern routes
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What happened
The head of Iran's Telecommunication Infrastructure Company said damaged undersea cables are being repaired and that network traffic is being rerouted through northern paths. He also said many cyber incidents inside Iran are now traced to compromised user devices, especially devices running VPN tools.
Why it matters
The statement indicates that Iran's international internet connectivity is operating under partial rerouting while cable repairs are underway, and that the government is linking domestic cyber incidents to endpoint infections rather than only backbone intrusion. That combination can change bandwidth quality, routing exposure, and near-term enforcement or hygiene measures affecting users, operators, and state networks.
Iran's deputy communications minister and head of the Telecommunication Infrastructure Company said on 2026-09-16 that damaged undersea cables linked to the war are being repaired and that alternative northern routes are being used to keep connectivity running. In the same interview with ISNA, he said most cyberattacks inside Iran now originate from infected end-user devices, with VPN tools named as a major vector. The announcement ties external connectivity disruption and internal endpoint compromise into one immediate operations problem for telecom continuity and cyber defense.
Watch for
Telecommunication Infrastructure Company publication on 2026-09-17 or 2026-09-18 confirming restoration capacity or route normalization on international links NetBlocks or IODA measurements on 2026-09-17 to 2026-09-19 showing recovery or continued packet-loss anomalies on Iranian international connectivity Iran's Communications Regulatory Authority notice by 2026-09-19 ordering operators or platforms to remove named VPN tools or push endpoint-security guidance MAHER Computer Emergency Response Team bulletin by 2026-09-19 attributing new attack clusters to infected user devices or VPN-related malware
Sources
- Iranian Students News Agency · isna.ir
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