Khark Island, Iran: no other cable lands within 50 km.
On an island this means losing the submarine link; on the mainland traffic can still go over land.
Our alerts on this cable in the last 180 days: 2, last on 15 Jul 2026. Events feed →
Counted: other international cables landing in the same country (domestic cables between points of one country are not a way out), other cables at landing points within 50 km, and whether the country has land links. Not counted: cable capacity, operator contracts and satellite. Use as a first look at dependence, not as a statement of what would happen.
Live Performance
400
measurements
18
probes
224
days monitored
199.9
ms avg RTT
2
anomalies
Monitored from 2026-03-09 through 2026-10-19 - live ICMP round-trip time measurements via our monitoring probes. All values below are recomputed daily from raw probe data.
Measurement sources
Probe
Location
Samples
Avg
Min-Max
Last seen
#1006480
control probe
78
168.7 ms
85.5-210.8
2026-10-06
#24845
control probe
74
415.2 ms
9.9-1861.1
2026-10-19
#12496
control probe
73
138.7 ms
0.4-1400.5
2026-10-13
#51485
control probe
25
23.3 ms
22.2-24.7
2026-10-10
#6410 own probe
Sao Paulo BR
12
253.0 ms
129.5-266.4
2026-07-15
#6427 own probe
Sydney AU
12
253.4 ms
241.0-372.4
2026-09-10
own probe
Jerusalem IL
12
165.9 ms
144.2-234.9
2026-09-10
own probe
Balancer IL
12
155.5 ms
153.6-156.6
2026-09-10
#6487
control probe
11
152.3 ms
149.2-169.1
2026-07-15
#7062
control probe
11
228.1 ms
222.3-275.8
2026-07-15
own probe
Minsk BY
11
134.2 ms
124.2-162.0
2026-07-15
own probe
Almaty KZ
11
183.9 ms
170.3-293.4
2026-07-15
own probe
Tbilisi GE
11
135.5 ms
127.4-169.5
2026-07-15
own probe
Moscow RU
11
129.6 ms
118.2-185.6
2026-07-15
own probe
Rostov RU
11
144.8 ms
140.2-170.6
2026-07-15
own probe
Odessa UA
11
146.0 ms
144.5-147.3
2026-07-15
own probe
Kyiv UA
11
118.8 ms
115.7-132.6
2026-07-15
#65614
control probe
3
105.2 ms
105.1-105.4
2026-05-29
About the Kuwait-Iran Cable System
Kuwait-Iran: A regional submarine cable linking the Persian Gulf
The Kuwait-Iran submarine cable is a 380 km telecommunications link connecting Kuwait City in Kuwait with multiple landing points in Iran, including Ganaveh, Khark Island, and the Soroosh Platform. Owned jointly by the Kuwait Ministry of Communications and the Telecommunication Infrastructure Company of Iran, the cable has been operational since 2005 according to GeoCables database records, although public information about its technical specifications and capacity remains limited.
What makes the Kuwait-Iran cable noteworthy is its role as a direct connection between Kuwait and Iran, facilitating regional data traffic across the Persian Gulf. However, many details about the cable, such as its design capacity, fiber count, supplier, and technology, have not been disclosed publicly, leaving room for speculation about its exact capabilities. Additionally, latency measurements along the cable's route reveal interesting discrepancies that highlight the challenges of interpreting live network data.
Quick facts
Parameter
Value
Length
380 km
Ready-for-service year
2005 (GeoCables database; no conflicting industry sources noted)
Owners
Kuwait Ministry of Communications, Telecommunication Infrastructure Company of Iran
Status
In service
Design capacity
Not disclosed
Fiber pairs
Not disclosed
Supplier
Not disclosed
Technology
Not disclosed
Landing points
Ganaveh (Iran), Khark Island (Iran), Kuwait City (Kuwait), Soroosh Platform (Iran)
The Kuwait-Iran cable spans the Persian Gulf, connecting Kuwait City to three landing points in Iran: Ganaveh, Khark Island, and the Soroosh Platform. Kuwait City serves as a major telecommunications hub, with several other submarine cables landing there, including 2Africa, Fiber Optic Gulf (FOG), Fibre in Gulf (FIG), and Gulf Bridge International Cable System/Middle East North Africa Cable System (GBICS/MENA). The Soroosh Platform, an offshore oil installation in Iran, also hosts another cable, GBICS/MENA, which provides redundancy in the region.
Why it was built and what it carries
The Kuwait-Iran cable was likely constructed to enhance regional connectivity between Kuwait and Iran, two neighboring countries with significant economic and geopolitical ties. By providing a direct route across the Persian Gulf, the cable facilitates faster and more reliable communication, supporting commercial, governmental, and potentially oil and gas industry operations. However, without public disclosures on its design capacity or technology, the specific volume and type of data traffic it handles cannot be confirmed.
History: what can be established
GeoCables records indicate that the Kuwait-Iran cable became ready for service in 2005. No conflicting dates have been noted in publicly available industry sources, so this year appears reliable. Information about its construction, supplier, and initial deployment remains sparse, reflecting a broader trend of limited transparency for some regional submarine cables.
Capacity and technology
The design capacity, fiber pair count, and underlying technology of the Kuwait-Iran cable have not been disclosed in public sources. Without operator documentation, attributing specific capabilities to the cable would be speculative. This lack of transparency makes it difficult to assess its role in the broader network infrastructure of the region.
Latency: the physics
Theoretical one-way light propagation over the cable's 380 km wet segment is approximately 1.9 ms, with a round-trip time (RTT) floor of 3.7 ms when accounting for the speed of light in fiber (200,000 to 204,000 km/s). However, live latency measurements from remote probes show significantly higher RTTs due to additional factors such as land tails, terminal equipment, and routing inefficiencies.
For example, measurements between Ganaveh and Kuwait City show a minimum RTT of 9.9 ms and an average of 325.7 ms over 106 checks. The minimum value is above the theoretical floor, suggesting it reflects the full path rather than just the cable segment. On the other hand, some measurements, such as a reported 0.5 ms RTT between Kuwait City and Ganaveh, fall below the physical floor and are artifacts caused by rate-limited ICMP replies from intermediate routers. These artifacts should not be interpreted as actual cable performance.
Redundancy: what happens if it breaks
In the event of a disruption, redundancy in the region is provided by other cables landing at Kuwait City and the Soroosh Platform. Kuwait City hosts multiple cables, including 2Africa, FOG, FIG, and GBICS/MENA, while the Soroosh Platform is connected to GBICS/MENA. These alternative routes ensure that regional data traffic can be rerouted, minimizing the impact of outages on connectivity between Kuwait and Iran.
Repairing submarine cables typically involves specialized cable ships equipped with remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) for locating and repairing faults. The repair process can take days to weeks, depending on the severity of the damage and environmental conditions.
Bottom line
The Kuwait-Iran cable spans 380 km, linking Kuwait City to Ganaveh, Khark Island, and the Soroosh Platform in Iran.
Operational since 2005, according to GeoCables records; no conflicting dates noted.
Owned by the Kuwait Ministry of Communications and the Telecommunication Infrastructure Company of Iran.
Design capacity, fiber pairs, supplier, and technology are not publicly disclosed.
Latency measurements reveal discrepancies due to routing inefficiencies and measurement artifacts.
Redundancy is provided by several other cables in the region.