Egypt Daily News – Once again, public debate is heating up in Egypt over the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir, which caused a major uproar years ago when an agreement was signed to transfer their sovereignty to Saudi Arabia. The islands are located at the entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea.
The renewed controversy stems from a false report claiming that Saudi Arabia has proposed to the United States the establishment of a military base on the islands. According to the false report, this would be part of Washington’s campaign against the Houthis in Yemen and aimed at securing Red Sea shipping routes.
These claims sparked strong public backlash, with some pointing out that the islands are still effectively under Egyptian administration. Others suggested that the report is part of U.S. pressure on Egypt, which reportedly began with American President Donald Trump requesting that Egypt host Palestinian refugees from Gaza in Sinai, allow free passage for U.S. ships through the Suez Canal, and contribute to U.S. efforts in Yemen, all of which Cairo reportedly rejected, according to The Wall Street Journal.
A 2017 Egyptian government report stated that “the Saudi side understood the need for Egypt to continue administering the islands to protect them and the entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba,” and affirmed that while the agreement ended sovereignty, it did not end Egypt’s security responsibilities in the area, which are vital for both Egyptian and Saudi national security.
The islands also fall within Zone C of the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty, a demilitarized zone monitored by international peacekeepers.
Social media users reacted strongly to the reports:
- Blogger Wael Abbas warned: “Forget all the trending topics. What’s coming is very serious. There’s talk in Saudi Arabia about giving Tiran and Sanafir to the U.S. for military bases. I know these rumors have been around since 2017, but they’ve resurfaced now, and there are American visits to the region. We need to stay alert.”
- Others cited a 2016 letter from Prince Mohammed bin Salman, then Saudi Defense Minister and Deputy Crown Prince, to then-Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, where the prince emphasized that:
- The islands would not be used for any military operations.
- Any security presence would be non-military, limited to border security forces.
Some Egyptian users questioned the logic of the rumor:
- Blogger Ahmed Fahmy wrote: “Did Saudi Arabia take over Tiran and Sanafir from Egypt just to hand them over to the U.S. for military bases? Where are you getting this stuff?”
Saudi social media users also responded:
Blogger Abdullah Al-Khurayef stated: “Tiran and Sanafir are 100 percent Saudi, and the report about U.S. military bases on them is completely false and has no basis in reality.”
