Strait of Tiran

   Body of water connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba (Gulf of Eilat). The strait is narrow and constricted by islands (Tiran and Sanafir) and reefs. From the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula to Tiran Island, the distance is approximately five miles. Coral formations constrict the seaway into two navigable channels: Enterprise Passage, which borders the Sinai coast, is 1,300 yards wide, while Grafton Passage, about one mile from the island of Tiran, is about 900 yards wide. Israel has argued that the Gulf of Aqaba should be treated as an international waterway and that no state has the right to deny passage through the Strait of Tiran. The Arab argument is that the Gulf of Aqaba consists of Arab territorial waters and that passage through it and the Strait of Tiran therefore cannot be undertaken without the consent of the Arab states. Until 1956, Egypt prevented shipping to Israel by maintaining military positions along the Sinai shore. These were destroyed by Israel during the Sinai War (1956). The announcement by President Gamal Ab-del Nasser of Egypt in May 1967 that the straits were blockaded was a proximate cause of the Six-Day War (1967). Afterward, they remained open to all shipping, including shipping to and from the Israeli port of Eilat.

   See also Arab-Israeli Conflict; Sharm El-Sheikh.