Straits of Tiran
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The Straits of Tiran (Template:Langx Template:Transliteration) are the narrow sea passages between the Sinai and Arabian peninsulas that connect the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea. The distance between the two peninsulas is about Template:Convert. The Multinational Force and Observers monitors the compliance of Egypt in maintaining freedom of navigation of the straits, as provided under the Egypt–Israel peace treaty.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The body is named after Tiran Island, located at its entrance Template:Convert from the Sinai. Sanafir Island lies to the east of Tiran, southeast of the shallow strait between Tiran and Saudi Arabia.
The straits give access to Eilat, a port on the southeast tip of Israel. The blockade of Israeli passage through the Suez Canal and Straits of Tiran led to two wars, in 1956 and 1967.
Background
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International documents inconsistently refer to both the "Straits of Tiran" and the "Strait of Tiran". There are several passages formed by the islands between Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The westernmost strait, between Egypt and the island of Tiran, overlooked by the Egyptian city Sharm El Sheikh, is the "Strait of Tiran", Template:Convert wide. It has two passages deep enough to be navigable by large ships. The Enterprise passage, Template:Convert deep, is adjacent to the Egyptian side, while the Template:Convert-deep Grafton passage, surrounded by shallows, is to the east, nearer to the island of Tiran. To the east of Tiran, between it and Saudi Arabia, the other strait has reefs and shallows with a single channel Template:Convert deep.<ref name="Salans">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Closures in 1948–1956 and 1967
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Access to Jordan's only seaport of Aqaba and to Israel's only Red Sea seaport of Eilat is through the Gulf of Aqaba, which gives the Straits of Tiran strategic importance.<ref>Robert Priewasser, Tiran Island and Straits of Tiran. Unexplained Sovereignty over an Island in the Context of the Arab-Israeli Conflict (Saarbrücken: Akademikerverlag, 2013)</ref><ref name="Oren">Template:Cite book</ref> In 1967, 90% of Israeli oil passed through the Straits of Tiran, making it a target of Egyptian blockade during the Arab League boycott of Israel.<ref name="ShlaimLouis2012p224">Template:Cite book</ref>
In May 1967, Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol repeated declarations that Israel had made in 1957, saying that closure of the Straits of Tiran would be an act of war.<ref>Neff, David. Warriors for Jerusalem: The Six Days that Changed the Middle East, p. 88 (Simon & Schuster, 1984): "In separate messages to the leading maritime powers, Eshkol warned: 'Israel would stop short of nothing to cancel the blockade. It is essential that President Nasser should not have any illusions.'"</ref><ref>"Statement to the General Assembly by Foreign Minister Meir, 1 March 1957" (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs): "Interference, by armed force, with ships of Israeli flag exercising free and innocent passage in the Gulf of Aqaba and through the Straits of Tiran will be regarded by Israel as an attack entitling it to exercise its inherent right of self-defence under Article 51 of the Charter and to take all such measures as are necessary to ensure the free and innocent passage of its ships in the Gulf and in the Straits."</ref> Egypt then blockaded the straits on May 22, 1967, and oil tankers that were due to pass through the straits were required to submit documents ensuring their cargo was not destined for an Israeli port.<ref name="ShlaimLouis2012p27">Template:Harvp</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At that time, Israel viewed the Straits of Tiran as a vital interest as it is where Israel received vital imports, mainly oil from Iran, and a blockade threatened Israel's ability to develop the Negev.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In May 1967, Major-General Indar Jit Rikhye was the Commander of the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) in the Sinai Peninsula when Egypt deployed its own troops in that territory and demanded that Rikhye withdraw all of his troops. Rikhye did withdraw, including from the port at Sharm El Sheikh adjacent to the straits. The subsequent closure of the Tiran Straits by Egypt was closely linked to the preceding UNEF withdrawal, because having the peacekeepers (rather than the Egyptian military) at Sharm El Sheikh was important for keeping that waterway open.<ref name="ShlaimLouis2012p63">Template:Cite book</ref> Later in life, General Rikhye sought to downplay the importance that Israel attached to keeping that waterway open, saying that Israel's accusation in 1967 of a blockade was "questionable" given that an Israeli-flagged ship had not passed through the straits in two years, and that "The U.A.R. [Egyptian] navy had searched a couple of ships after the establishment of the blockade and thereafter relaxed its implementation".<ref name="Rikhye">Template:Cite book</ref> Egypt had initially requested UNEF withdrawal from locations other than Sharm El Sheikh,<ref>Quigley, John (December 2012). The Six-Day War and Israeli Self-Defense, Kindle Location 485. Cambridge University Press. Kindle Edition.</ref> but UN Secretary-General U Thant demanded an all-or-nothing withdrawal.<ref>Segev, 2007, op. cit., p. 274.</ref>
The US president at the time, Lyndon Johnson, said the following about closure of these straits being a cause of the Six-Day War:<ref>Ben Gad, Yitschak. Politics, Lies, and Videotape: 3,000 Questions and Answers on the Mideast Crisis, p. 182 (SP Books, 1991).</ref><ref>"LBJ Pledges U.S. to Peace Effort", Eugene Register-Guard (Jun 19, 1967). See also Johnson, Lyndon. "Address at the State Department's Foreign Policy Conference for Educators" (June 19, 1967).</ref>
"If a single act of folly was more responsible for this explosion than any other, it was the arbitrary and dangerous announced decision that the Straits of Tiran would be closed. The right of innocent, maritime passage must be preserved for all nations."
Bridge project
The Saudi–Egypt Causeway, a proposed project to build a Template:Convert bridge across the straits, linking Egypt and Saudi Arabia, is under consideration by the Egyptian Government.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
See also
- Sanafir Island
- Suez Crisis
- Six-Day War
- Yom Kippur War
- Closure of the Suez Canal (1967–1975)
- The Line, Saudi Arabia
- Saudi–Egypt Causeway, proposed bridge over the Straits of Tiran from Saudi Arabia to Egypt
- Tiran Island
- Israeli passage through the Suez Canal and Straits of Tiran
References
External links
- Descriptions, pictures and videos of some Straits of Tiran dive spots
- One of the wrecks in the Straits of Tiran
- "The Strait of Tiran and the Sovereignty of the Sea" by Anthony S. Reyner
- Photo Gallery: Bridging the Red Sea, Spiegel Online
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