Seven tankers burn in Strait of Hormuz as Tehran threatens cables and data centers

Seven oil tankers caught fire or were damaged overnight in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state television reported on Thursday, citing the Revolutionary Guard navy, which said the ships were hit by Iranian fire or struck naval mines. The AP could not independently confirm the attacks, and no casualties were reported. October has seen the most reported attacks on commercial shipping since the war's opening weeks in March, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency, which also notes some shippers have grown reluctant to report incidents at all.

The timing is not incidental. Israel holds an election on Oct. 27 in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could lose power, and Danny Citrinowicz, a researcher at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies and a former Iran specialist in its military and intelligence services, says a clear Netanyahu victory makes an attack on Iran almost guaranteed. "Netanyahu wants to attack Iran, that's not even a question," he said, accusing Israel of rushing into another round with Tehran without revamping its strategy.

The threats now reach beyond tankers. In recent days Tehran has indicated it could expand targets to infrastructure such as undersea cables and data centers — the same facilities powering the AI build-out whose energy bills European consumers are already paying. The Revolutionary Guard navy has threatened to strike U.S. military bases in the region if Washington keeps helping guide commercial ships through the strait, and Iran still asserts control over Hormuz itself.

Washington is answering with hardware rather than diplomacy: a third aircraft carrier and thousands of additional troops make the U.S. force in the Middle East the largest gathering of American warships and aircraft there in decades. Iran's own proposal — ending the war and fully opening the strait within a week, conditional on lifting the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports — echoes a deal that collapsed within days of both sides signing it in June, and President Donald Trump rejected the seven-day plan in late September. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Tehran remains open to diplomacy but ready to defend itself; Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, acknowledged this week that Iran would suffer under a prolonged blockade, adding that economic pain and strategic collapse are not the same thing.

Whoever keeps Hormuz open holds the West's electricity price. This week, that is Tehran.