The Middle East (1960–1971): Regional Transformations and the Rise of Oil Politics

The era from 1960 to 1971 is pivotal for the Middle East, characterized by intense geopolitical struggles, rapid economic transformations driven by oil wealth, shifting regional alliances, and critical developments in Arab nationalism, culminating in profound long-term consequences for the region and beyond.

The Formation of OPEC and the Era of Oil Politics

In 1960, five oil-exporting nations—Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela—form the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). This event marks a crucial turning point, as Middle Eastern nations begin asserting control over their natural resources and challenging Western dominance of oil markets. Initially, OPEC’s influence is modest, but the foundation laid during this era sets the stage for future global economic power shifts.

Oil wealth rapidly transforms the Arabian Peninsula. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates undergo significant modernization, investing in infrastructure, education, and healthcare. These states emerge as crucial economic hubs with growing international leverage.

Egypt under Nasser and Arab Nationalism

Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser remains the region's leading figure in the early 1960s, advocating pan-Arab nationalism, socialism, and anti-imperialism. His influence peaks with the establishment of the United Arab Republic (UAR), initially a union of Egypt and Syria (1958–1961). However, the union collapses in 1961 due to Syrian dissatisfaction with Egyptian dominance.

Nasser's regional prestige endures despite setbacks. He supports revolutionary movements throughout the Arab world, notably in Yemen, where Egyptian troops intervene in a prolonged and costly civil war (1962–1967). This drains Egypt's resources and contributes to future vulnerabilities.

The Arab-Israeli Conflict and the Six-Day War (1967)

Tensions between Israel and its Arab neighbors escalate dramatically throughout the 1960s. A critical flashpoint occurs in June 1967 with the Six-Day War, when Israel launches preemptive strikes against Egypt, Jordan, and Syria, following months of escalating rhetoric and troop mobilizations.

The outcome is a resounding Israeli victory, dramatically altering the region’s geopolitical map. Israel captures the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip from Egypt, the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, and the strategic Golan Heights from Syria. This devastating defeat deeply wounds Arab nationalism, humiliating Nasser and shaking Arab confidence.

In the war's aftermath, hundreds of thousands of additional Palestinian refugees are displaced. The occupied territories become focal points of bitter disputes, setting the stage for future conflicts and prolonged occupation.

Palestinian Nationalism and the Rise of the PLO

Following the 1967 war, Palestinian identity and resistance to Israeli occupation intensify. The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), founded in 1964 as a political body representing Palestinians, rapidly evolves into a prominent militant organization under Yasser Arafat’s leadership by 1969. Palestinian guerrilla operations against Israel increase significantly, particularly from bases in Jordan and Lebanon, drawing these countries deeper into regional conflict.

In Jordan, tensions between Palestinian guerrillas and King Hussein’s government culminate in the Black September crisis of 1970. Jordanian forces violently suppress Palestinian factions, resulting in thousands of deaths and driving the PLO leadership to relocate to Lebanon, further destabilizing that nation.

Syria and Iraq: Radical Regimes and Ba’athist Rule

In Syria, instability following the collapse of the UAR leads to several coups, culminating in the seizure of power by the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party in 1963. By 1970, Defense Minister Hafez al-Assad consolidates his power through a military coup, establishing an authoritarian regime marked by socialist economic policies, repression of dissent, and strategic alignment with the Soviet Union.

In Iraq, instability persists throughout the 1960s. A Ba’athist-led coup in 1968 brings Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr and his deputy, Saddam Hussein, to power. The new Iraqi government pursues extensive modernization and social reform but also establishes a fiercely authoritarian system, marked by brutal suppression of opposition and increased militarization.

Iran and the Shah’s Modernization

In Iran, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi launches ambitious economic and social reforms, known as the White Revolution (1963), aimed at rapid modernization, land redistribution, and industrialization. While the reforms stimulate economic growth and infrastructure development, they alienate religious leaders and large segments of Iranian society who view them as overly secular, authoritarian, and westernizing. Opposition to the Shah grows, planting seeds for future unrest.

Lebanon: Fragile Balance and Rising Tensions

Lebanon, traditionally viewed as a stable commercial center, becomes increasingly volatile as Palestinian refugees and PLO factions settle within its borders. By the late 1960s, Lebanese politics grow dangerously polarized, as Christians and Muslims diverge sharply over the Palestinian presence. Although full-scale conflict does not erupt until later, the foundations of Lebanon's subsequent civil strife are firmly laid during this period.

Turkey and Cyprus: Regional Conflict

Turkey, a strategic NATO member, experiences economic growth and stability under military-backed governments in the 1960s, but tensions with neighboring Greece escalate dramatically over Cyprus. Inter-communal violence on the island intensifies between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, leading to increased regional instability and setting the stage for future Turkish intervention in Cyprus (1974).

Gulf States and British Withdrawal

Britain, weakened economically and politically by World War II and subsequent global commitments, announces its intention to withdraw military and political oversight from the Persian Gulf by 1971. This sparks anxiety among small Gulf sheikhdoms previously protected by British treaties. In response, the states of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain, and Fujairah establish the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in December 1971. Qatar and Bahrain opt for independence, becoming fully sovereign states in 1971. These new nations rapidly use burgeoning oil revenues to modernize and diversify their economies.

Oman’s Internal Conflict and Modernization

Oman experiences severe internal tensions during this period. Sultan Said bin Taimur’s repressive rule and resistance to modernization lead to significant unrest, notably the prolonged Dhofar Rebellion (1965–1975). In 1970, Sultan Said is overthrown by his British-backed son, Qaboos bin Said, who immediately embarks on a modernization program, ending Oman’s isolation and seeking regional cooperation and stability.

Legacy of the Era (1960–1971)

The period from 1960 to 1971 profoundly reshapes the Middle East. The Six-Day War significantly alters regional geopolitics, embedding long-lasting Arab-Israeli conflicts and the Palestinian issue deeply within regional and global politics. OPEC’s formation and increased oil wealth dramatically enhance the global influence of Middle Eastern states. Meanwhile, the emergence of authoritarian regimes in Syria and Iraq, the Shah’s modernization in Iran, and internal turmoil in Lebanon and Oman highlight the region's complexity and instability. These developments set the stage for intensified future conflicts, regional power shifts, and enduring strategic rivalries, profoundly influencing Middle Eastern politics into the twenty-first century.

Sadat quickly realizes that Egypt's acute economic and social problems are more pressing than the conflict with Israel, just as Nasser had toward the end of his life.

Sadat believes that by making peace with Israel Egypt can reduce its huge defense burden and obtain desperately needed American financial assistance.

He realizes, however, that before some type of arrangement with Israel can be reached, Egypt will have to regain the territory lost to Israel in the June 1967 War.

To achieve these ends, Sadat launches a diplomatic initiative aimed at exchanging territory for peace.

Sadat tells the Egyptian parliament, on February 4, 1971, [I]f Israel withdrew her forces in Sinai to the passes I would be willing to reopen the Suez Canal; to have my forces cross to the East Bank to make a solemn declaration of a cease-fire; to restore diplomatic relations with the United States and to sign a peace agreement with Israel through the efforts of Dr. Jarring, the representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations."

Sadat clearly expresses his desire for "coexistence" with Israel in a Newsweek interview (February 23, 1971), ...

Sadat's peace initiative, similar to the Rogers Plan, is received coolly in Israel.

Golda Meir states unequivocally that Israel will never return to the internationally recognized pre-1967 borders.

There is no apparent response to Jordan's statement, either. (Source: Chomsky, Noam: Fateful Triangle; the United States, Israel, and the Palestinians (p. 64; 1983; Updated Edition 1999, South End Press, Boston MA, USA.)

Meir also commissions the establishment of a settlement on occupied Egyptian territory ...

Israel's Labor government authorizes plans for settlement in the hills surrounding the Arab portion of Jerusalem, well beyond the earlier borders of the city, as part of the process of "thickening Jerusalem," on the same day that Sadat's offer is officially rejected.

Sadat, although regarded as an interim figure, soon reveals unexpected gifts for political survival.

He outmaneuvers a formidable combination of rivals for power in May 1971, calling his victory the "Corrective Revolution."

An extremist, militant corps of Fatah later called Black September (Aylul Aswad) is proclaimed after Jordanian prime minister Wasfi Tal is shot and killed by Palestinian Black September operatives as he enters the lobby of the Sheraton Hotel in Cairo, Egypt, on November 28, 1971.

While Tal lies dying, one of the assassins kneels and laps with his tongue the blood flowing across the marble floor.

Sudan relies on a variety of countries for its arms supplies.

Since independence the army has been trained and supplied by the British, but relations are cut off after the Arab-Israel Six-Day War in 1967.

At this time relations with the US and West Germany are also cut off.

From 1968 to 1971, the Soviet Union and eastern bloc nations sell large numbers of weapons and provide technical assistance and training to Sudan.

At this time the army grows from a strength of eighteen thousand to roughly fifty thousand men.

Large numbers of tanks, aircraft, and artillery are acquired at this time, and they will dominate the army until the late 1980s.

Relations cool between the two sides after the coup in 1971, and the Khartoum government seeks to diversify its suppliers.

Egypt is the most important military partner in the 1970s, providing missiles, personnel carriers, and other military hardware.

Western countries begin supplying Sudan again in the mid 1970s.

U.S. President Nixon meets Soviet president Leonid Brezhnev in May 1972, and Egypt's Anwar as Sadat is convinced that the two superpowers will try to prevent a new war in the Middle East and that a position of stalemate—no peace, no war—has been reached. 

For Sadat this position is intolerable.

The June 1967 War had been a humiliating defeat for the Arabs.

Without a military victory, any Arab leader who agrees to negotiate directly with Israel will do so from a position of extreme weakness

the same time, the United States and the Soviet Union are urging restraint and caution.

However, the United States refuses to put pressure on Israel to make concessions, and the Soviet Union, which had broken off diplomatic relations with Israel as a result of the June 1967 War, has no influence over Israel.

Internally, the Egyptian economy is being steadily drained by the confrontation with Israel.

Economic problems are becoming more serious because of the tremendous amount of resources directed toward building up the military since the June 1967 War, and it is clear that Sadat will have to demonstrate some results from this policy.

In the last half of 1972, there are large-scale student riots, and some journalists come out
publicly in support of the students. Thus, Sadat feels under increasing pressure to go to war against Israel as the only way to regain the lost territories.

Military forces commanded by General Ariel Sharon in the Israeli-occupied northeastern Sinai following initial expropriations in 1969, "drove off some ten thousand farmers and Bedouin, bulldozed of dynamited their tents, destroyed their crops and filled in their wells," to prepare the ground for six kibbutzim, nine villages, and the city of Yamit in January 1972.