The Straits of Tiran are the narrow sea passages, about 3 miles wide, formed by the Sinai and Arabian peninsulas which separates the Gulf of Aqaba from the Red Sea. Access to the Israeli port city of Eilat is contingent upon passage through the Gulf of Aqaba, giving the straits of Tiran a strategic importance that proved pivotal in several Arab-Israeli wars during the twentieth century. It is named after the island Tiran located at the inflow of it.