Egypt says that a drone attacked a ship at the port of Damietta along the Mediterranean, sparking a fire at the country's liquified natural gas hub.
According to BBC News, no party has claimed responsibility for the July 29 attack. The drone was said to have hit a U.S. floating storage and regasification vessel, with a subsequent fire spreading to a Greek-owned LNG tanker. The fire was quickly put out and there were no casualties.
It remains unclear who might have been behind the attack, although Iranian forces and Houthi rebels have frequently carried out similar attacks on tankers and energy infrastructure in the Middle East over the last month. Although Egypt has not yet been directly attacked by Iran, U.S. President Donald Trump implied that Iran or its proxies may have been responsible.
The attack at Damietta occurred hours after the U.S. and Saudi Arabia hit Iran-backed groups in Iraq with joint air strikes. Those groups had reportedly attacked Saudi oil facilities with drones 30 times in recent days. Following the U.S. and Saudi joint attacks in Iraq, Iran's Revolutionary Guard said that it would "punish the aggressor," and that any countries aiding the U.S. would "receive a harsh response."
