Two Iranian sources revealed Thursday that the drone attack targeting Egypt’s Damietta port “was designed to demonstrate that global shipping and energy supplies could be exposed to broader disruptions if Iran decides to escalate the conflict,” according to the New York Times. Still, the two Iranian sources didn’t clarify whether Iran or one of the militias affiliated with it in the region carried out the attack, or where the drone was launched from.
1+Egypt’s government announced that initial investigations into two fires that broke out on two ships at Damietta port in the country’s north showed they were caused by a drone, after they were brought under control. While no one has claimed responsibility for the attack, U.S. President Donald Trump hinted earlier that Iran was behind it, without providing details, adding that the incident is “just a continuation of what’s happening” and that the United States “will hit them very hard, because it’s our turn.”
The explosion at the Mediterranean port of Damietta ignited fires on two ships—one of them an American liquefied natural gas storage tanker, according to companies tracking maritime traffic, in a development that expands the scope of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. However, the New York Times assessed that the attack won’t have a major impact on global energy markets, compared to attacks in other parts of the Middle East.
1+Still, the American newspaper noted that if Tehran expands its attacks to include ships in the Mediterranean, it could lead to further disruption to trade, as shipping companies would need to reassess the risks of using Egyptian ports. As for the second ship, a liquefied natural gas tanker operated by a Greek shipping company, a spokesman for the operator said it caught fire following the explosion, adding that investigations are still ongoing to determine the cause of the explosion.