Editing Suez Crisis (section)

==== Egypt and Britain ====
Britain's desire to mend Anglo-Egyptian relations in the wake of the coup saw the country strive for rapprochement throughout 1953-54. Part of this process was the agreement, in 1953, to terminate British rule in Sudan by 1956, in return for Cairo's abandoning its claim to [[suzerainty]] over the Nile Valley. In October 1954, Britain and Egypt concluded the Anglo-Egyptian Agreement on the phased evacuation of [[British Armed Forces]] troops from the Suez base, the terms of which agreed to withdrawal of all troops within 20 months, maintenance of the base to be continued, and for Britain to hold the right to return for seven years.<ref>{{Harvnb|Butler|2002|p=112}}</ref> The [[Suez Company (1858–1997)|Suez Company]] was not due to revert to the Egyptian government until 1968 under the terms of the treaty.<ref>{{Cite news |date=26 July 1956 |title=1956: Egypt seizes Suez Canal |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/26/newsid_2701000/2701603.stm |work=BBC News}}</ref>

Britain's close relationship with the two [[Hashemite]] kingdoms of [[Iraq]] and [[Jordan]] were of particular concern to Nasser. In particular, Iraq's increasingly amicable relations with Britain were a threat to Nasser's desire to see Egypt as head of the Arab world. The creation of the [[Central Treaty Organisation|Baghdad Pact]] in 1955 seemed to confirm Nasser's fears Britain was attempting to draw the Eastern Arab World into a bloc centred upon Iraq, and sympathetic to Britain.<ref name="Darwin 210">{{Harvnb|Darwin|1988|p=210}}</ref> Nasser's response was a series of challenges to British influence in the region that would culminate in the Suez Crisis.