Egypt-Saudi Arabia: Islets in the Red Sea

To most people the names of Tiran and Sinafir would not conjure up or bring back to memory anything of importance; they might even never have heard of them. Yet, they refer to two islets which are an intrinsic part of the Middle East peace process. Strategically sited at the entrance of the Gulf of Aqaba, close to Sinai and Saudi Arabia, their future was reconsidered during the Israeli-Egyptian talks in Cairo last week. They belong to Saudi Arabia and in 1954 were leased to Egypt at [Gamal Abdel] Nasser’s request. This enabled Nasser in 1956 and 1967 to cut off the Israeli port of Eilat and effectively blockade it.