<P> Nasser 's response was the nationalization of the Suez Canal . On 26 July , in a speech in Alexandria , Nasser gave a riposte to Dulles . During his speech he deliberately pronounced the name of Ferdinand de Lesseps , the builder of the canal , a code - word for Egyptian forces to seize control of the canal and implement its nationalization . He announced that the Nationalization Law had been published , that all assets of the Suez Canal Company had been frozen , and that stockholders would be paid the price of their shares according to the day 's closing price on the Paris Stock Exchange . That same day , Egypt closed the canal to Israeli shipping . Egypt also closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping , and blockaded the Gulf of Aqaba , in contravention of the Constantinople Convention of 1888 . Many argued that this was also a violation of the 1949 Armistice Agreements . </P>
<P> Nasser 's response was the nationalization of the Suez Canal . On 26 July , in a speech in Alexandria , Nasser gave a riposte to Dulles . During his speech he deliberately pronounced the name of Ferdinand de Lesseps , the builder of the canal , a code - word for Egyptian forces to seize control of the canal and implement its nationalization . He announced that the Nationalization Law had been published , that all assets of the Suez Canal Company had been frozen , and that stockholders would be paid the price of their shares according to the day 's closing price on the Paris Stock Exchange . That same day , Egypt closed the canal to Israeli shipping . Egypt also closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping , and blockaded the Gulf of Aqaba , in contravention of the Constantinople Convention of 1888 . Many argued that this was also a violation of the 1949 Armistice Agreements . </P>
the egyptian leader who seized the suez canal was
the egyptian leader who seized the suez canal was
Nasser
Nasser