On 25 January 1952, a confrontation between British forces and police at Ismailia resulted in the deaths of 40 Egyptian policemen, provoking riots in Cairo the next day which left 76 people dead. Afterwards, Nasser published a simple six-point program in Rose al-Yūsuf to dismantle feudalism and British influence in Egypt. In May, Nasser received word that Farouk knew the names of the Free Officers and intended to arrest them; he immediately entrusted Free Officer Zakaria Mohieddin with the task of planning the government takeover by army units loyal to the association.

In what year did riots cause the political situation in Egypt to rapidly deteriorate?