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Conspiracists Claim America Cut Iran’s Internet
by
findingDulcinea Staff
There is much online talk that Iran was the target of recent Internet disruptions in the Middle East. Respected sources have repeated the claim, despite the lack of evidence.
30-Second Summary
Earlier this month, a succession of fiber-optic cable failures interrupted Internet access across the Middle East.
The disruptions have been attributed to damaged cables, but the absence of a conclusive explanation as to how the damage occurred has spawned a number of conspiracy theories.
One theory that has gained traction posits that the cables were sabotaged to disrupt Iranian plans to launch an oil bourse, the existence of which could hurt the American economy. Though conceding it was "farfetched," John Dvorak, at business newswire MarketWatch, judged that claim credible. He wrote, "There has always been talk about disrupting commerce by screwing up the Internet. We've just seen a proof of concept, whether done on purpose or by accident."
A variation on the same theme claims that the United States sabotaged Iran’s Internet connection preparatory to launching an attack.
A third claim has it that U.S. or Israeli intelligence services were trying to tap the fiber-optic cables in order to intercept Iran’s communications. Yet, The Economist quotes a European Parliament report that concluded it is nearly impossible to tap fiber-optic cables.
Indeed, no news reports have even confirmed that Iran suffered a disruption in Internet access during the Middle East blackout. Officials from Renesys, a company that monitors Internet service, have said that Iran was never disconnected.
The Economist and Reason magazine assert that some of the conspiracy theories come from dubious sources.
If Iran did experience service disruptions, both magazines think it is unlikely the country would stay offline for long. Most places affected by the cable failures have already established alternative connections.
The disruptions have been attributed to damaged cables, but the absence of a conclusive explanation as to how the damage occurred has spawned a number of conspiracy theories.
One theory that has gained traction posits that the cables were sabotaged to disrupt Iranian plans to launch an oil bourse, the existence of which could hurt the American economy. Though conceding it was "farfetched," John Dvorak, at business newswire MarketWatch, judged that claim credible. He wrote, "There has always been talk about disrupting commerce by screwing up the Internet. We've just seen a proof of concept, whether done on purpose or by accident."
A variation on the same theme claims that the United States sabotaged Iran’s Internet connection preparatory to launching an attack.
A third claim has it that U.S. or Israeli intelligence services were trying to tap the fiber-optic cables in order to intercept Iran’s communications. Yet, The Economist quotes a European Parliament report that concluded it is nearly impossible to tap fiber-optic cables.
Indeed, no news reports have even confirmed that Iran suffered a disruption in Internet access during the Middle East blackout. Officials from Renesys, a company that monitors Internet service, have said that Iran was never disconnected.
The Economist and Reason magazine assert that some of the conspiracy theories come from dubious sources.
If Iran did experience service disruptions, both magazines think it is unlikely the country would stay offline for long. Most places affected by the cable failures have already established alternative connections.
Headline Links: Cut cables stir conspiracy theories
“Most telecommunications experts and cable operators say that sabotage seems unlikely, but no one knows what damaged the cables or whether the incidents were related,” the International Herald Tribune reported on Feb. 4, referring to the four Internet outages. A fourth cable linking Qatar and the United Arab Emirates was reported damaged on Feb. 1, the second break that day. The fourth failure is believed to have been caused by a power problem.
Source: International Herald Tribune
According to unnamed sources quoted by ArabianBusiness.com, the fourth cable failure was the result of a power problem and not any physical damage to the cable itself. The previous three cables are believed to have been cut by ships’ anchors.
Source: ArabianBusiness.com
Background: The incidents
TeleGeography, a telecommunications consultancy, provides a summary of the four outages.
Source: TeleGeography
On Feb. 1, an undersea fiber-optic cable off the coast of Dubai was cut, the third such cable failure in as many days.
Source: CNN
Damage to two undersea cables in the Mediterranean caused Internet outages in most of Egypt and India. Internet connections were disrupted in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Source: The BBC
Opinion & Analysis: Theories and fact
The theories
MarketWatch’s John Dvorak says there might be substance to the claim that the Internet outages were timed to prevent the opening of an Iranian oil bourse. Dvorak quotes a reader of his who says that as the bourse would trade in currencies other than the dollar, it could have a negative impact on the U.S. economy. The bourse is to be set up on an island that was forced offline by the outage, allegedly, and has no alternative Internet connection, Dvorak writes.
Source: MarketWatch
Australian public broadcaster ABC recently published a story titled “Conspiracy Theories Emerge after Internet Cables Cut.” The story says that while the first cuts were attributed to a mishap with a ship’s anchor, subsequent outages have fuelled theories of sabotage. ABC quotes online columnist Ian Brockwell as saying that the United States and Israel have cut the cables to disrupt Iran’s Internet.
Source: ABC
Debunking the conspiracies
In response to the numerous conspiracy theories, The Economist writes that not only was Iran never actually left without Internet access, but targeting fiber-optic cables would likely yield few benefits since they have thus far been proven almost impossible to tap.
Source: The Economist
Iran’s Internet connection was not cut, according to Internet monitoring company Renesys.
Source: Renesys
There is no evidence to support the conspiracy theories about Iran’s alleged Internet outage, and no news reports have come out confirming Iran is offline. Blogger Nancy Reyes has compiled a number of sources that cast light on the four incidents.
Source: Blogger News
Reason magazine debunks a story published by Australian public broadcaster ABC, taking issue with the credibility of the broadcaster’s sources. ABC quoted “online columnist Ian Brockwell,” who allegedly claimed that the United States and Israel cut the undersea cables to disrupt Iran’s Internet. Reason asserts that Brockwell might not be a reliable source.
Source: Reason
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