Closure of the Suez Canal (1967–1975)

On 6 June 1967 the Suez Canal was closed by Egypt, shortly after the start of the Six-Day War on 5 June. Israel bombed most of Egypt's airfields and then entered and occupied the Sinai Peninsula, all the way to the Suez Canal, for 15 years. Gamal Abdel Nasser, the leader of Egypt at the time, was aligning himself with the Soviet Union and had the Suez Canal closed earlier from October 1956 until March 1957 during the Suez Crisis, when he nationalized the Suez Canal from French and British investors. Oil through the Suez Canal accounted for 60% of Italy's, 39% of France's, and 25% of Britain's total oil consumption in 1966 before the canal was closed for 8 years. The canal opened again in June 1975^[1] after the 1974 Suez Canal Clearance Operation of mines and debris.^[2][3][4]

Oil embargo

See also: 1973 oil crisis

 

Egypt crossing the Suez Canal during the Yom Kippur War

 

October 18, 1973 crossing the Suez Canal

In October 1973 the Yom Kippur War started when Egypt crossed the Suez Canal in Operation Badr^[5] that ended in a failed attempt to take back the Sinai Peninsula from Israel. That resulted in OAPEC countries cutting production of oil and placing an embargo on oil exports to the United States and other countries backing Israel, when Richard Nixon requested $2.2 billion to support Israel in the Yom Kippur War on 19 October 1973. The embargo only lasted a few months until January 1974, but the price of oil remained high even after the embargo was lifted.^[6]

See also

• Closure of the Suez Canal (1956–1957)
• 1974 Suez Canal Clearance Operation, a US-led operation to clear the canal of naval mines and wrecked ships after its closure in the Six-Day War
• 1970s commodities boom
• Yellow Fleet, a group of fifteen ships trapped in the canal from 1967 to 1975 as a result of the Six-Day War
• Railway to Eilat – proposed railway in Israel that might act as a backup in case of another obstruction
• 1970s energy crisis
• Yom Kippur War
• Operation Abirey-Halev
• Aswan Dam
• Bar Lev Line
• 2021 Suez Canal obstruction
• Israeli passage through the Suez Canal and Straits of Tiran
• Stagflation
• Ben Gurion Canal Project - proposed canal through Israel from the Mediterranean to the Gulf of Aqaba

References

1. "Interim Agreement between Israel and Egypt (Sinai II) | UN Peacemaker". Peacemaker.un.org. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
2. Yelena Dzhanova (28 March 2021). "The Suez Canal Has Been Blocked and Closed Several Times Since Opening". Businessinsider.com. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
3. "How the (closure of the) Suez Canal changed the world". The Gamming. 31 August 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
4. "Suez Canal". History.com. 30 March 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
5. "Operation BADR: Defeating A2AD with DIME". Thestrategybridge.org. 7 November 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
6. Corbett, Michael. "Oil Shock of 1973–74". Federal Reserve History. Retrieved 27 August 2022.