Tiran Island and Straits of Tiran: Unexplained Sovereignty over an Island in the Context of the Arab-Israeli Conflict

The Straits of Tiran between the Sinai Peninsula and Saudi Arabia, at the entrance into the Gulf of Aqaba, is a waterway of highly geo-strategic importance. The four littoral states to the Gulf (Jordan, Saudi Arabia, but particularly Egypt and foremost Israel) have a high interest in passage respectively the control of access through this passage. Since the Straits of Tiran is the only navigable access of Israel to the Red Sea, the importance of this issue increased since the foundation of the Jewish state in 1948. Therefore free navigation through this strait was of special significance both in the Suez Crisis and the Six-Day War, and particularly in the latter, the Egyptian occupation of Tiran and the following blockade of the strait was the official casus belli for Israel. Taking this into consideration it seems strange that the sovereignty of both Tiran and its easterly neighbor island Sanafir have never been stated officially, moreover, that this case has never been brought to court by neither of the countries involved. Bearing in mind that since the turmoil in its Arab neighborhood the strategic security of Israel is again severely endangered, this is a question of highly global relevance. The author reviews the history and the legal implications of this territorial question and demonstrates the strategic importance of Tiran Island for peace in the Middle East.