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.

The Arab summit meetings also take up other matters.

League members agree to created a unified military command, the United Arab Command, with headquarters in Cairo, but this plan, like that of diverting the Jordan River, remains on paper.

The Arab leaders do implement a plan to create the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to be the primary organization of Palestinians.

The Arab governments, especially Egypt, are becoming increasingly uneasy about the growing activities of Palestinian guerrillas, and they want to create an organization through which they can control such operations

They create the Palestine Liberation Army, whose units will be stationed and controlled by Egypt, Syria, and Iraq.

Egypt will exercise control of the PLO until 1969 when Yasser Arafat, the leader of the guerrilla organization called Al Fatah, will take control of the organization from Ahmad Shukairy, the choice of the Arab League governments.

Fatah, which has merged with smaller groups to form the PLO, carries out its first military operation on December 31, 1964.

Yasser 'Arafat leads a band of guerillas in a night crossing from Lebanon into northern Israel.

Armed with Soviet-made explosives, their uniforms supplied by the Syrians, they advance toward their target: a pump for conveying Galilee water to the Negev desert.

This attempt to sabotage the Israeli National Water Carrier is unsuccessful, however, as the explosives fail to detonate.

Arab regimes increasingly view Israel and the Palestinian problem after 1967 not as the key to revolutionary change of the Arab state system, but in terms of how they affect domestic political stability.

The Palestinians, who have looked to the Arab countries to defeat Israel and regain their homeland since the late 1940s, have been radicalized by the 1967 defeat.

The PLO—now an umbrella organization of Palestinian resistance groups led by Yasser Arafat's Al Fatah—moves to the forefront of Arab resistance against Israel.

Recruits and money pour in, and Fatah quickly permeates and mobilizes the reunited Palestinian population, providing social services and organizations.

Throughout 1968 Palestinian guerrillas launch a number of border raids on Israel that add to the organization's popularity.

The fedayeen (Arab guerrillas) attacks bring large-scale Israeli retaliation, which the Arab states are not capable of counteracting. (The tension between Arab states' interests and the more revolutionary aspirations of the Palestinian resistance foreshadow a major inter-Arab political conflict.)

Conflicts within the PFLP over ideology lead to several splits and generate independent factions, most notably the PFLP-General Command (PFLP-GC) established in 1968 by Ahmad Jibril.

A school bus hits a land mine in Israel's Negev desert on March 18, 1968, killing two adults and injuring twenty-eight children.

The Israelis stage a major retaliatory raid into Jordan to hunt down the Fatah terrorists responsible.

Fatah by 1968 has emerged as a major Palestinian force and in March of this year is the primary target of an Israeli attack on the Jordanian village of Karameh in which one hundred and fifty guerrillas and twenty-nine Israelis are killed.

The strong showing of Fatah at Karameh—especially after the Arab humiliation in the Six-Day War of 1967—boosts Fatah politically and psychologically.

Egypt had agreed in May 1968 to accept the resolution if Israel agreed to evacuate all occupied areas.

By accepting the resolution, Egypt has for the first time implicitly recognizes the existence—and the right to continued existence—of Israel.

In return, Egypt has gained a UN commitment to the restoration of Sinai.

The PLO rejects the resolution because it refers to the Palestinians only as "refugees" and thus appears to dismiss Palestinian demands for self-determination and national rights.

Syria characterizes the plan as a "sellout" of Yasser Arafat and the PLO.

Fatah bombs Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda market on November 22, killing twelve civilians and injuring fifty-two.

Fatah is the largest and wealthiest of all the Palestinian organizations by the end of the 1960s and has taken over effective control of the PLO, of which Yasser Arafat is named chair of the PLO's executive committee and thus the chief of the Palestinian national movement.

Abu Jihad, as 'Arafat's deputy and a moderate within the PLO, often negotiates with PLO extremists, maintains diplomatic relations with other countries, and reportedly plans military strategies and arranges arms purchases for Fatah and the PLO.

The Popular Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PDFLP; Arabic Al-Jabhah al-Dimuqra tiyyah li-Tahrir Filast in), originated in the leftist swing of the 1960s.

Founded by a Jordanian Orthodox Christian, Na'if Hawatmeh, in 1969, the DFLP is envisioned as a political movement distinct from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which had been founded to provide an umbrella group for militant Palestinian groups.

The PDFLP stands ideologically to the left of the PFLP and claims that its enemies are Zionist upper-class colonists.

The PDFLP initially maintains a Marxist-Leninist orientation, believing the peasants and the working classes should be educated in socialism in order to bring about a democratic state of Jews and Arabs free of Zionism and imperialism.

Other guerrilla organizations that have emerged in the late 1960s in addition to Fatah, the PFLP, the PFLP-General Command, and the PDFLP, include as-Sa'iqah, backed by Syria, and the Popular Struggle Front (PSF).

All these groups join forces inside the PLO despite their differences in ideology and tactics (some are dedicated to openly terrorist tactics).

Despite their differences in tactics and ideology, the guerrilla organizations are united in rejecting any political settlement that does not include what they characterize as the total liberation of Palestine and the return of the refugees to their homeland, goals that are to be achieved through armed struggle.

Palestinian representatives claim, however, that, while they aim at dismantling Israel and purging Palestine of Zionism, they seek to establish a nonsectarian state in which Jews, Christians, and Muslims can live in equality.

Most Israelis doubt the sincerity or practicality of this goal and view the PLO as a terrorist organization committed to destroying not only the Zionist state but also Israeli Jews.