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Straits of Tiran

 
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Straits of Tiran
 
 
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The Straits of Tiran (Arabic
Arabic language

Arabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages languages such as Hebrew language and Aramaic language....
: ???? ?????, Hebrew
Hebrew language

Hebrew is a Semitic languages of the Afro-Asiatic languages. Modern Hebrew is spoken by more than seven million people in Israel and Classical Hebrew is used for prayer or study in Jews communities around the world....
: ????? ?????), are the narrow sea passages, about 13 km (8 miles) wide, between the Sinai
Sinai Peninsula

The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai is a triangular peninsula in Egypt. It lies between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, forming a land bridge between Africa and Southwest Asia....
 and Arabian
Arabian Peninsula

The Arabian Peninsula , Arabia, Arabistan, and the Arabian subcontinent is a peninsula in Southwest Asia at the junction of Africa and Asia. The area is an important part of the Middle East and plays a critically important geopolitics role because of its vast reserves of petroleum and natural gas....
 peninsulas which separates the Gulf of Aqaba
Gulf of Aqaba

The Gulf of Aqaba , in Israel known as the Gulf of Eilat is a large Headlands and bays of the Red Sea. It is located to the east of the Sinai peninsula and west of the Arabian peninsula....
 from the Red Sea
Red Sea

The Red Sea is a salt water inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb sound and the Gulf of Aden....
. It is named after Tiran Island
Tiran Island

Tiran is an island belonging to Egypt at the entrance of the Straits of Tiran, which separates the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. It has an area of about 80 km2 ....
 located at its inflow, on which the Multinational Force and Observers
Multinational Force and Observers

The Multinational Force and Observers is an international peacekeeping force overseeing the terms of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel....
 has an observation post to monitor the compliance of Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
 in maintaining freedom of navigation of the straits as provided under the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty
Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty

The Egyptian?Israeli Peace Treaty was signed in Washington, DC, United States, on March 26, 1979, following the Camp David Accords . The main features of the treaty were the mutual recognition of each country by the other, the cessation of the state of war that had existed since the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and the complete withdrawal by Isra...
.

Sanafir Island
Sanafir Island

Sanafir Island is a Saudi Arabia island in the Straits of Tiran east of Tiran Island. Its size is about 33 km?. It is part of the Ras Muhammad National Park....
 lies to the east of Tiran, southeast of the shallow strait between Tiran and Saudi Arabia.

Access to Jordan
Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern part of the Syrian Desert down to the Gulf of Aqaba....
's only seaport of Aqaba
Aqaba

Aqaba is a coastal town in the far south of Jordan. It is the capital of Aqaba Governorate. Aqaba is strategically important to Jordan as it is the country's only seaport....
 and to Israel
Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
's only Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean ....
 seaport of Eilat
Eilat

Eilat is Israel's South District city, a busy port as well as a popular resort, located at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on the Gulf of Aqaba....
 is contingent upon passage through the Gulf of Aqaba, giving the Straits of Tiran strategic importance.






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The Straits of Tiran (Arabic
Arabic language

Arabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages languages such as Hebrew language and Aramaic language....
: ???? ?????, Hebrew
Hebrew language

Hebrew is a Semitic languages of the Afro-Asiatic languages. Modern Hebrew is spoken by more than seven million people in Israel and Classical Hebrew is used for prayer or study in Jews communities around the world....
: ????? ?????), are the narrow sea passages, about 13 km (8 miles) wide, between the Sinai
Sinai Peninsula

The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai is a triangular peninsula in Egypt. It lies between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, forming a land bridge between Africa and Southwest Asia....
 and Arabian
Arabian Peninsula

The Arabian Peninsula , Arabia, Arabistan, and the Arabian subcontinent is a peninsula in Southwest Asia at the junction of Africa and Asia. The area is an important part of the Middle East and plays a critically important geopolitics role because of its vast reserves of petroleum and natural gas....
 peninsulas which separates the Gulf of Aqaba
Gulf of Aqaba

The Gulf of Aqaba , in Israel known as the Gulf of Eilat is a large Headlands and bays of the Red Sea. It is located to the east of the Sinai peninsula and west of the Arabian peninsula....
 from the Red Sea
Red Sea

The Red Sea is a salt water inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb sound and the Gulf of Aden....
. It is named after Tiran Island
Tiran Island

Tiran is an island belonging to Egypt at the entrance of the Straits of Tiran, which separates the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. It has an area of about 80 km2 ....
 located at its inflow, on which the Multinational Force and Observers
Multinational Force and Observers

The Multinational Force and Observers is an international peacekeeping force overseeing the terms of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel....
 has an observation post to monitor the compliance of Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
 in maintaining freedom of navigation of the straits as provided under the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty
Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty

The Egyptian?Israeli Peace Treaty was signed in Washington, DC, United States, on March 26, 1979, following the Camp David Accords . The main features of the treaty were the mutual recognition of each country by the other, the cessation of the state of war that had existed since the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and the complete withdrawal by Isra...
.

Sanafir Island
Sanafir Island

Sanafir Island is a Saudi Arabia island in the Straits of Tiran east of Tiran Island. Its size is about 33 km?. It is part of the Ras Muhammad National Park....
 lies to the east of Tiran, southeast of the shallow strait between Tiran and Saudi Arabia.

Access to Jordan
Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern part of the Syrian Desert down to the Gulf of Aqaba....
's only seaport of Aqaba
Aqaba

Aqaba is a coastal town in the far south of Jordan. It is the capital of Aqaba Governorate. Aqaba is strategically important to Jordan as it is the country's only seaport....
 and to Israel
Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
's only Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean ....
 seaport of Eilat
Eilat

Eilat is Israel's South District city, a busy port as well as a popular resort, located at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on the Gulf of Aqaba....
 is contingent upon passage through the Gulf of Aqaba, giving the Straits of Tiran strategic importance. Egypt's blockade of the Straits to Israeli ships and ships bound for Israel in 1956 and again in 1967 was a catalyst to the Suez Crisis
Suez Crisis

The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, was a military attack on Egypt by United Kingdom, France, and Israel beginning on 29 October 1956....
 in 1956 and the Six-Day War
Six-Day War

In the Six-Day War of June 5-10, 1967, Israel defeated the armies of the neighboring states of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. In Arabic, the war is called ....
 in 1967.

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
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
 and Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KSA , is an Arab country and the largest country of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Jordan on the northwest, Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south....
. The westernmost strait, between Egypt and the island of Tiran, overlooked by the Egyptian city Sharm el-Sheikh
Sharm el-Sheikh

Sharm el Sheikh , is a city situated on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, in Janub Sina', Egypt, on the coastal strip between the Red Sea and Mount Sinai, Egypt....
 is the "Strait of Tiran". It has two passages deep enough to be navigable by large ships. The Enterprise passage, deep, is right next to the Egyptian side, while the 240-foot-deep Grafton passage, surrounded by shallows, is to the east, nearer to the island of Tiran
Tiran Island

Tiran is an island belonging to Egypt at the entrance of the Straits of Tiran, which separates the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. It has an area of about 80 km2 ....
. To the east of Tiran, between it and Saudi Arabia, the other strait has reefs and shallows with a single channel deep.

A project to build a bridge across the straits, linking Egypt and Saudi Arabia, is under consideration by the Egyptian government. A bridge at this point would bypass Israel, which physically stands between the Arab lands of Africa and the Arab lands of Southwest Asia.

See also

  • Sanafir Island
    Sanafir Island

    Sanafir Island is a Saudi Arabia island in the Straits of Tiran east of Tiran Island. Its size is about 33 km?. It is part of the Ras Muhammad National Park....
  • Tiran Island
    Tiran Island

    Tiran is an island belonging to Egypt at the entrance of the Straits of Tiran, which separates the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. It has an area of about 80 km2 ....