Egypt: Sisi calls for an end to the "escalation" in the region, following the drone attack in Damietta

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called on the international community on Thursday, July 30, to unite to "end the escalation" in the region, the day after a drone attack in the Mediterranean port of Damietta in the north of the country, according to his spokesman.

As Egypt reported a drone strike that hit two ships, including an American one, in the port of Damietta on Wednesday, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called on the international community to end the "escalation" in the region.

During a telephone conversation with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, the Egyptian president warned of "the seriousness of the escalation in the region," stressing the need for Egypt, Spain, Europe and the international community "to join forces to put an end to it," the presidential spokesman said.

This is the first attack in Egypt since the start of the war. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi stated that an investigation is ongoing into the circumstances of the attack, for which no group has claimed responsibility.

The Houthis say they are not behind the attack on Damietta

A Houthi foreign ministry official claimed on Thursday that they were not behind the drone attack in Damietta, northern Egypt, according to the Saba news agency, affiliated with the Yemeni rebels.

According to Saba, "rumors that Yemen targeted a ship in the port of Damietta, in the Arab Republic of Egypt, are baseless," adding that the Houthis are targeting "only the Saudi regime for its unjust blockade and continued aggression against the Yemeni people," Saba reported.

The attack in Egypt: a message about the vulnerability of American interests

No party has claimed responsibility for the strike, which hit an American-owned and operated gas storage vessel in the Mediterranean port, and Egypt has not pointed the finger at anyone.

According to analysts, its objective, whoever the author may be, could be to push Egypt - one of the few diplomatic intermediaries between Iran and the United States - into the conflict.

The attack is the furthest from the Gulf and the Red Sea since the start of the war. By occurring in the Mediterranean, it materializes a threat to shipping lanes previously considered safe.

Damietta, a small but strategic port, is located more than 1,300 km from Iran and 2,000 km from Yemen. The strike caused fires on the Energos Winter storage and regasification vessel – owned by the United States – and the neighboring Greek LNG carrier GasLog Salem.

The attack came amid renewed hostilities between Iran and the United States, following a brief lull, as if to show that Tehran could disrupt world trade, particularly in hydrocarbons, even more and further than it has done so far.

"Egypt is the only major power in the region that still maintains a quasi-neutral position" and among the stakeholders, "only Israel has an interest in it adopting a firmer position against Iran," according to Mustapha Kamel Al-Sayyid, professor of political science at Cairo University quoted by AFP.

Iran warns against "false flag" operations

On Thursday night, the Iranian foreign minister warned against "false flag" operations.

“Egypt is a friend and important partner in the region, and its security is of paramount importance to us. We must all remain vigilant against Israeli plots and false flag operations aimed at undermining regional peace,” Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi wrote on X, adding: “The threat is clear and common; it fears Muslim solidarity.”