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Why did Egypt nationalize the Suez Canal Company in 1956?

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Flag of Egypt with horizontal red, white, and black stripes and a gold eagle centered on the white stripe. — Egypt Flag of Egypt.

Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal Company on July 26, 1956, primarily as a retaliatory measure after the United States and Britain withdrew their promised financial support for the construction of the Aswan High Dam.12

This withdrawal of funding was a response to Egypt’s strengthening political and military ties with the Soviet Union and communist Czechoslovakia. By seizing the canal—which was then controlled by French and British interests—Nasser intended to use the tolls collected from international shipping to self-finance the dam's construction, projecting that the project would be paid for within five years. This act of nationalization triggered the Suez Crisis, as Britain and France feared the potential disruption of vital petroleum shipments from the Persian Gulf.12