• Undersea cable cuts in the Red Sea are disrupting internet services across Asia and the Middle East.
• Microsoft Azure users are experiencing increased latency due to rerouted traffic from affected cables.
• Countries impacted include India, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates, leading to slowdowns in connectivity.
• The damage is attributed to failures affecting major cable systems near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
• Concerns grow over possible sabotage linked to Yemen’s Houthi rebels amidst ongoing regional conflicts.

Multiple undersea cable cuts in the Red Sea have significantly disrupted internet access in regions including India, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates. Microsoft reported that its Azure cloud services have been affected, stating that “network traffic traversing through the Middle East may experience increased latency due to undersea fiber cuts.” The company's operational updates indicate that traffic outside this region remains unaffected, emphasizing the importance of these cables in maintaining global connectivity, according to Reuters and Channel News Asia.

The disruptions began on September 6, 2025, with significant impact reported by the internet monitoring group NetBlocks. They confirmed that the cable failures affecting the SMW4 and IMEWE systems near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, have caused degraded connectivity for users across various Middle Eastern countries, including severe slowdowns for UAE telecom networks Du and Etisalat. While Microsoft has rerouted traffic through alternate paths, users are still experiencing increased delays, as noted by SCMP and India Times.

As speculation arises regarding the cause of the cuts, concerns have been directed towards the Houthis, who have previously targeted maritime vessels and could potentially be involved in these incidents, although they deny directly attacking cable infrastructure. This situation underscores the geopolitical risks present in the region, with Yemen's conflict impacting vital global internet infrastructure, an issue raised by TRT World and Al Jazeera.

Internet service providers typically have backup systems to mitigate issues from cable cuts, but the current crisis illustrates vulnerabilities in global internet connections linked through the Red Sea, which account for a significant percentage of international data flow. Similar incidents have previously disrupted global communications, emphasizing the need for robust security measures, as pointed out by Reuters and Dawn.