Tiran Island
| Disputed island Other names: Yotvat (Hebrew) |
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Map of Tiran and Sanafir Islands
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| Geography | |
| Location | Red Sea |
| Coordinates | 27°57′N 34°33′E / 27.950°N 34.550°ECoordinates: 27°57′N 34°33′E / 27.950°N 34.550°E |
| Total islands | 1 |
| Area | 80 square kilometres (31 sq mi) |
| Administered by | |
| Egypt | |
| Claimed by | |
| Saudi Arabia | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | Uninhabited |
Tiran (Arabic: جزيرة تيران Jazīrat Tīrān, aka Jezîret TīrānEgyptian Arabic: [ɡeˈziːɾet tɪˈɾæːn] and Yotvat Island, is an island that is administered by Egypt.
The island is located at the entrance of the Straits of Tiran, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. It has an area of about 80 square kilometres (31 square miles). It is part of the Ras Muhammad National Park. The Straits of Tiran is Israel's only access from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Red Sea, and Egypt's blockade of the Straits of Tiran on 22 May 1967 was the casus belli for Israel in the Six Day War.
Tiran Island is of strategic significance in the area, as it forms the narrowest section of the Straits of Tiran, which is an important sea passage to the major ports of Aqaba in Jordan and Eilat in Israel. Israel briefly took over Tiran Island during the Suez Crisis and again from 1967 to 1982 following the Six Day War. The island is inhabited only by military personnel from Egypt and the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO).
Chisholm Point is a cape of Tiran Island.
Some sources report that many beaches on the island are mined.
On 9 April 2016, the Egyptian government declared that Tiran and Sanafir Island fall within the territorial waters of Saudi Arabia, as codified in the maritime border agreement signed with the government of Saudi Arabia on the previous day. The agreement needs to be ratified by Egypt's Parliament, and has reportedly been quashed by an Egyptian judge. A court in its final ruling rejected the deal and affirmed Egyptian sovereignty over the islands in January 2017.
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Wikipedia