With tensions rising around the Strait of Hormuz, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday said the situation carries echoes of the 1956 Suez crisis, another moment when a strategic waterway pulled the world into a larger confrontation.
In a post on X, Ramesh said what is unfolding around Hormuz today is not entirely new. Decades ago, he noted, the Suez Canal had triggered a similar wave of global anxiety, drawing in major powers and escalating quickly.
“The world is grappling with the Strait of Hormuz crisis. Seventy years ago, it grappled with what is known as the Suez Crisis,” Ramesh posted on X.
The remarks come as worries grow over the safety of key shipping routes and what it could mean for global oil supplies. By bringing up Suez, Ramesh is essentially saying this isn’t the first time a narrow stretch of water has triggered bigger tensions.
He pointed out that the Suez crisis began on July 26, 1956, when Egypt’s President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalised the canal. The decision upset Western countries and soon pushed the region towards conflict.
From diplomacy to conflict
Ramesh recalled that India was involved in efforts to ease tensions at the time, with VK Krishna Menon playing a role in negotiations. Those attempts did not last long.
By October that year, Britain, France and Israel had launched a joint military operation against Egypt. The action, however, was brief. Then US President Dwight D Eisenhower intervened, forcing the three countries to withdraw within days.
“They had to abort it humiliatingly in a few days after a furious US President Dwight Eisenhower intervened,” he said.
He also noted what he described as an irony, that the same US leadership had earlier backed the 1953 coup in Iran after the nationalisation of its oil industry.
After the fighting ended, a United Nations Emergency Force was deployed along the Egypt-Israel border, including Sinai and Gaza. Indian troops were part of this mission, and officers such as Lt Gen PS Gyani and Maj Gen Inder Jit Rikhye held senior roles.
Ramesh also referred to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s visit to Indian soldiers in Gaza in 1960, calling it a reflection of India’s commitment to peacekeeping. The UN force stayed until 1967, after which the region again slipped into conflict with the Six-Day War.
Ramesh’s remarks come as attention turns once again to the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow but vital route for global oil supplies.