New Delhi, March 17 As the world grapples with the Strait of Hormuz crisis, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday recalled the 1956 Suez crisis and how the then Indian envoy to the UN, VK Krishna Menon, was at the center of the diplomatic efforts to resolve it, even succeeding admirably, though only temporarily.
Ramesh also recalled that after the invasion of Egypt was halted in early November 1956, a UN Emergency Force was stationed along the Sinai and Gaza border, on the Egypt-Israel border, which was composed of troops from ten countries, including India.
"The world is grappling with the Strait of Hormuz crisis. 70 years ago, it was grappling with what is known as the Suez crisis," Ramesh said on X.
"On July 26, 1956, President Nasser of Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal. This caused a major uproar in the West, and war clouds loomed. The man at the center of the diplomatic effort to resolve the crisis was none other than VK Krishna Menon. He succeeded admirably, but only for a while," Ramesh recalled.
On October 29, 1956, the UK, France, and Israel launched an invasion of Egypt, but they had to abort it humiliatingly after a few days, following intervention by a furious US President Dwight Eisenhower, the Congress leader said.
"Ironically, this was the same man who three years earlier had approved the joint US-UK operation to overthrow the democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran, Mohammed Mosaddegh, who had nationalized the oil industry there," Ramesh pointed out.
After the invasion of Egypt was halted in early November 1956, a UN Emergency Force was stationed along the Sinai and Gaza border, on the Egypt-Israel border, he said.
"This Force, composed of troops from ten countries (including India), was active until early June 1967. Its commander from December 1959 to January 1964 was Lt. Gen PS Gyani, and from January 1966 to June 1967, Maj. Gen Inder Jit Rikye led it," Ramesh recalled.
Nehru himself had addressed the Indian contingent in the Gaza Strip on May 20, 1960, he said.
The six-day war followed immediately after the departure of the UN Emergency Force, Ramesh noted.
Ramesh also shared pictures of Menon with Nasser, Antony Eden, and Selwyn Lloyd during his hectic diplomacy.
These recollections come at a time when the world is grappling with the Hormuz Strait crisis.
Amid fears of a global energy crisis, a small number of ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which a fifth of the world's oil normally travels.
Iranian attacks on commercial ships in and around the strait have slowed shipping to a trickle, dramatically increasing oil prices and pressuring Washington to take action to ease the pain for consumers and the global economy.