{"id":17675,"date":"2025-02-19T17:20:05","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T15:20:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/?p=17675"},"modified":"2026-10-24T15:07:20","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T13:07:20","slug":"tiran-and-sanafir","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/tiran-and-sanafir\/","title":{"rendered":"Tiran and Sanafir: Sovereignty, Security and an Unsettled Political Dispute"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the past years, the <\/span>issue<\/span><\/a> of the islands of Tiran and Sanafir has been a central axis of Egyptian-Saudi relations, after Cairo and Riyadh signed the maritime border demarcation agreement in April 2016, which approved the transfer of the islands’ affiliation to Saudi Arabia. According to the two governments, the main aim of the agreement is to benefit from the exclusive economic zone of both countries and the resources and natural wealth it provides.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the signing of<\/span> the agreement<\/span><\/a> sparked wide controversy in Egypt, as it faced political and judicial opposition, especially after the Supreme Administrative Court issued a ruling in 2017 annulling the agreement, which prompted the Egyptian government to resort to the Court of Urgent Matters, which ruled to drop the grounds of the previous ruling, enabling the government to proceed with the procedures for ratifying the agreement. In June 2017, the Egyptian parliament officially approved the agreement, before Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi signed it, making the handover of the islands to Saudi Arabia official from a legal standpoint.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the completion of the domestic legal procedures, the official handover of the islands has been delayed for more than two years, as Egypt has not yet deposited the official letter of handover with the United Nations, the procedure considered the final step for the transfer of full sovereignty. According to informed sources, this was one of the files raised during the <\/span>visit<\/span><\/a> of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Cairo in mid-October 2024, during which the two sides discussed mechanisms for speeding up the completion of the final procedures, especially since the delay in implementing the agreement has affected some Saudi investment projects inside Egypt.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In 2017, opponents of the agreement <\/span>filed<\/span><\/a> a lawsuit before the Administrative Judicial Court, which <\/span>ruled<\/span><\/a> it void, but at the same time the government resorted to the Court of Urgent Matters, which cancelled the ruling of the Supreme Administrative Court, opening the way for the House of Representatives to approve the agreement on 14 June 2017, before it was officially ratified on 24 June 2017.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the issue still constitutes a sensitive file in Egyptian public opinion, as opponents consider the two islands historically part of Egyptian territory, while the Egyptian government relies on legal documents confirming Saudi ownership of them since 1950, when they were placed under Egyptian sovereignty.<\/span><\/p>\n

Recommended reading: <\/strong>Egypt condemns the occupation’s statements and confronts Trump’s plan to displace the Palestinians<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

A strategic and economic crossroads <\/b><\/h1>\n

The islands of Tiran and Sanafir occupy an extremely important strategic location in the northern Red Sea, as they lie at the entrance of the Gulf of Aqaba, which includes the Jordanian port of Aqaba and the Israeli port of Eilat. Their location gives whoever controls them the ability to control maritime navigation between the Red Sea and the territorial waters of the countries of the region, and the “Strait of Tiran” is also Israel’s only sea passage to the Red Sea.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"A
A map showing the location of the islands of Tiran and Sanafir between the Egyptian and Saudi borders. Image source: Google Earth<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the view of <\/span>David Schenker<\/a>, a researcher at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and former US Assistant Secretary of State, Israel focuses mainly on ensuring freedom of navigation through the Red Sea to the port of Eilat, which is guaranteed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, regardless of any bilateral agreements with Egypt or Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n

As for former head of the Journalists Syndicate Makram Mohamed Ahmed<\/a>, he stated in an earlier interview that the transfer of the islands’ affiliation requires security coordination with Israel, as a party concerned with the Camp David Accords, pointing out that the new security arrangements include transferring Egyptian security tasks to Saudi Arabia in coordination with Israel.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Zawia3, human rights lawyer Malek Adly believes that the agreement opens the door to reshaping the strategic landscape in the Middle East, as Saudi Arabia becomes a direct party to the Camp David Accords, which may affect the region’s policies and security balances, especially with regard to freedom of navigation and the movement of international forces.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Recommended reading: Trump’s presidential win: how will it affect the Cairo talks between Fatah and Hamas?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/span>
\nThe economic dimensions of the two islands<\/h1>\n

Economically, an economic expert (who asked not to be named) explains to Zawia3 that the two islands represent a pivotal point in Egyptian control of the Red Sea, and that losing them means a decline in Egyptian influence over one of the most important regional maritime passages. He also points to reports speaking of a huge strategic reserve of natural gas within the Red Sea, which may be part of the calculations of the major powers when redrawing influence in the region.<\/span><\/p>\n

He explains that the importance of Tiran Island lies in its control of the Strait of Tiran, as it overlooks it, along with the Sharm El-Sheikh area on the eastern coast of Sinai and Ras Humaid on the western coast of Tabuk in Saudi Arabia, and the two islands also have strategic importance because they control international navigation from the Gulf of Aqaba, as they lie at the mouth of the gulf, which enables them to close navigation towards the Gulf of Aqaba.<\/span><\/p>\n

The area between Sharm El-Sheikh and Tiran Island is the only navigable strait in the Gulf of Aqaba area, and ships cannot sail between Tiran and Sanafir because the depth of the water is unsuitable for passage.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Strait of Tiran constitutes the only crossing point for ships to and from the Gulf of Aqaba, and because of this, international agreements have given it a special status, as it is the only waterway through which Israeli ships can sail from the port of Eilat to the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the same context, the economic expert explains that the islands of Tiran and Sanafir are among the 10 most famous islands in the world for diving, because of their rare coral reefs, to which many tourists flock. In addition, they are among the most famous natural protectorates that distinguish Egypt, as they are a strong attraction for tourists from all over the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sanafir covers<\/a> an area of 33 square kilometres to the east, while Tiran Island covers an area of 80 square kilometres, and they are among the islands most attractive to tourists worldwide, distinguished by the clarity of their waters and the presence of floating islands and coral reefs, in addition to colourful and rare fish and endangered sea turtles such as green turtles, as well as molluscs, echinoderms and seaweed, which makes them a first-class tourist destination.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The two islands are part of “Area C” as defined in the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, so that only civilian police are present there, and they are also considered a location for the presence of the international peacekeeping forces. In 2003, Israel submitted an official request to Egypt to dismantle navigation-monitoring devices it had installed in the area, and its request was rejected.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A
A map of the Egyptian territory showing contour lines on the Egyptian islands, including the islands of Tiran and Sanafir, while the Saudi islands appear without contour lines<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Recommended reading: Trump’s return to the White House: how will Egypt be affected?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Have aid and investment become conditional on handing over Tiran and Sanafir?<\/b><\/h1>\n

In 2022, US and Israeli reports<\/a> revealed that Egypt had been slow in implementing the maritime border demarcation agreement, which provides for transferring the affiliation of the islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia. The reports indicated that Cairo had postponed the implementation of the agreement for security reasons related to operations monitoring the situation in the region, and also noted that Washington had frozen 10% of the annual aid provided to Egypt, amounting to $1.3 billion, which was considered part of the US pressure to push Cairo towards implementing the agreement.<\/p>\n

In January 2023, during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mohammed Al-Jadaan, the Saudi finance minister, stated that the kingdom’s policy on financial support for Egypt had changed, pointing out that his country used to provide grants and direct financial deposits, but had begun to rely on mechanisms that ensure real economic reforms are imposed, in cooperation with international institutions. Although his statements were not directly linked to the issue of Tiran and Sanafir, analysts pointed out that the tension linked to the handover of the islands may be one of the factors influencing the economic shifts between the two countries.<\/p>\n

According to the recent Egyptian-Saudi understandings, the final contracts for the Ras Banas project are scheduled to be signed, which includes Saudi investments worth $15 billion, to be injected into the Egyptian economy in one go. Ras Banas is a large peninsula extending into the Red Sea for a length of 50 kilometres, and is administratively part of the Red Sea governorate, but it is still an uninhabited area except for a few fishing villages.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In this context, Malek Adly, a lawyer at the Court of Cassation and director of the Centre for Economic and Rights Studies, explains to Zawia3 that Saudi investments in Ras Banas and other areas offered for foreign investment remain under full Egyptian control, but he believes they are sometimes used as a tool of political pressure to push Cairo towards implementing the maritime border demarcation agreement, which includes ceding the islands of Tiran and Sanafir and amending the international borders.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Recommended reading: Between the October War and Gaza: are we still victorious?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

A judicial dispute not yet settled?<\/b><\/h1>\n

Adly points out that border disputes between states rarely end completely, explaining that the lawyers and politicians who reject the agreement have exhausted all legal avenues within Egypt to prove the Egyptian identity of the two islands, relying on the fact that the islands had been under Egyptian sovereignty since before the founding of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.<\/span><\/p>\n

Adly continues, explaining that the case witnessed a political and judicial struggle between two opposing visions: on the one hand, the Egyptian government sought to prove that Egypt did not own the islands, relying on legal and historical documents confirming that they had been under Egyptian protection at Saudi request in the 1950s. On the other hand, the parties opposed to the agreement moved to challenge it before the courts, and managed to obtain a ruling from the Supreme Administrative Court upholding the Egyptian identity of the islands, a ruling that was considered an official document that can be relied upon in international forums in the future.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

According to Adly, international border disputes are classified as sovereignty issues, which means that they may return to circulation in the future in the event of fundamental political changes in Egypt. Although the Tiran and Sanafir issue was not an international dispute, the Egyptian government took a decision to cede the islands to Saudi Arabia, and the agreement was marketed inside Egypt to prepare public opinion to accept it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Adly affirms that the Egyptian Centre collected all the evidence and legal documents used in the judicial dispute over the ownership of Tiran and Sanafir, and they were preserved in a book of which Zawia3 obtained a copy, to serve as a reference for future generations who may renew the claim to the islands in a different political phase.<\/span><\/p>\n

Adly concludes by questioning the reasons for Egypt’s ceding of the islands, even though the issue was presented as a restoration of Saudi lands, which contradicts historical maps and documents. He stresses that no governmental or sovereign body has the authority to cede state territory or amend its borders by political decisions, pointing out that the case remains open and may witness new chapters of legal and political dispute, whether in Egypt, in Saudi Arabia or even in international forums.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"The
The map of Egypt whose first edition was issued in 1912 and the second in 1913. The map shows the names of the Egyptian islands, including Tiran and Sanafir, while the Saudi islands appear without names.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Recommended reading: <\/strong><\/span>Egyptians in Assad’s prisons: will they return after the fall of the regime?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Final steps to hand over the two islands<\/b><\/h1>\n

In the same context, professor of public international law Ayman Salama disagrees with the view of human rights lawyer Malek Adly, considering that the islands of Tiran and Sanafir were within the Saudi borders, and that Egypt had coordinated with the Saudi government since the era of the late President Gamal Abdel Nasser to take control of them, given the political circumstances and the conflict then existing in the region, with the aim of securing its north-eastern borders.<\/span><\/p>\n

Salama explains, in a statement to Zawia3, that successive Egyptian political leaderships postponed settling this issue for decades, and it was only finally resolved during the rule of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, whom he describes as having “led a strong and balanced government” that was able to end this border dispute with Saudi Arabia, which is considered one of Egypt’s most important brotherly supporters at the political and economic levels.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the security situation, Ayman Salama says that “the naval detachment of the Multinational Force and Observers in Sinai (MFO) ended its tasks on Tiran Island in 2023, after an official notification from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the detachment began its work from South Sinai after coordination with Egypt”. He adds that “Saudi Arabia extended its legal and actual sovereignty over the islands of Tiran and Sanafir for the first time during the current year”.<\/span><\/p>\n

The professor of public international law declined to comment on the rulings issued by the Egyptian courts, which upheld Egypt’s ownership of the islands, based on historical documents and official maps confirming that they lie within the Egyptian borders.<\/span><\/p>\n

Eight years after the conclusion of the maritime border demarcation agreement between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, whose preparation took more than six years and witnessed 11 rounds of negotiations between the two sides, the implementation of the agreement is now in its final stages.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is worth noting that during the Saudi crown prince’s recent visit to Cairo, the two sides agreed that Egypt would begin preparing the letter of handover of the islands of Tiran and Sanafir and send it to both the United States and the Israeli occupation, given that the security arrangements and the new amendments are linked to the security annexes of the peace treaty signed between Egypt and Israel in 1979, which provides for the deployment of international emergency forces in Area (C), which includes the two islands, under American sponsorship.<\/span><\/p>\n

Media reports last November, including<\/span> Al-Araby Al-Jadeed<\/span><\/a>, had revealed that Cairo sent both Riyadh and Tel Aviv an initial draft of the letter of final handover of the islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia, as a preliminary procedure preceding its official deposit with the United Nations. This step comes within the framework of the security arrangements of the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty signed in 1979, under which the two islands are subject to international supervision.<\/span><\/p>\n

But according to the same sources, the Egyptian wording of the letter met with objections from the Saudi and Israeli sides, as both parties made observations on some of the terms used in the document, especially those linked to the procedures resulting from the official transfer of sovereignty to Saudi Arabia. The reports did not mention whether these observations led to amendments to the wording or to a postponement of the final step of handing over the islands.<\/span><\/p>\n

Observers believe that the completion of this step represents a new phase in redrawing regional policies in the region, including the security and navigation arrangements in the Red Sea. However, the future of this agreement remains linked to the survival of the current political regimes, as border disputes remain issues that can be raised again as governments and regimes change.<\/span><\/p>\n

Editorial correction: The first version of the report stated that the visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Cairo took place in the middle of last month; the correct date is 15 October 2024.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the legal and diplomatic procedures continuing, the controversy over the future of the two islands persists. While Cairo and Riyadh affirm that the transfer of sovereignty has become a settled matter, opponents believe that the file may be reopened<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":11838,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[412],"tags":[],"kateb":[7839],"class_list":["post-17675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics-en","kateb-mai-ali"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/\u062a\u064a\u0631\u0627\u0646-\u0648\u0635\u0646\u0641\u0627\u064a\u0631.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17675"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17675\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24151,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17675\/revisions\/24151"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17675"},{"taxonomy":"kateb","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kateb?post=17675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}