By Rohan Gunaratna

Introduction:

The Middle East’s War widens! Did Iran’s attack on Egypt’s Mediterranean port of Damietta, prompt the US to return to war with Iran? Did Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) drone attack cause the fire that broke out in Damietta, a LNG hub on July 29, 2026?  The drone hit a US-owned floating storage and regasification vessel, Energos Winter, sparking a blaze that spread to a Greek-owned LNG tanker, GasLog Salem at 14:20 GMT. Both the storage vessel and tanker have a combined carrying capacity of 300,000 cubic metres of LNG.

“The entire port could have exploded, along with parts of the city of Damietta,” said one officer, recalling fears that the flames could spread to nearby LNG infrastructure in the Nile Delta city of more than 300,000 residents.[1] A catastrophe was averted when the emergency responders especially fire fighters moved rapidly to control the situation.

In the backdrop of clouds of black smoke rising from the port and tugboats hosing down the ships with water, the fires were extinguished.[2] Energos Winter and GasLog Salem left the port and moved into the open sea. For fear of an explosion that could impact the entire port, the storage vessel and tanker attached before were separated and towed offshore.

The threat facing Egypt today is complex. Although the vessel and the tanker were not Egyptian, the attack affected its reputation as a country safe from war. Egyptian economy has already suffered losses from pressures on the Suez Canal with attacks by Ansarallah on Red Sea shipping. The drone attack on Damietta Port threatens Egypt’s energy security and risks driving up global shipping and insurance costs.

The Context:

The US attack on Iran’s economic and energy infrastructure is inevitable and imminent. Fearing US retaliation, Iran and Ansarallah denied that they mounted the drone attack in the Damietta Port. Similar attacks were conducted by IRGC and it’s militias notably the Houthi movement’s Ansarallah on tankers in the Gulf and Red Sea respectively. Likewise, IRGC and Ansarallah have attacked energy infrastructure in the Gulf and Arab countries. Such attacks disrupt global trade and cause oil prices to soar. If the investigation into the drone strike identifies Iran or its partner Ansarallah as the perpetrator, Egypt will be the 13th country attacked by Iran. To get rid of the U.S. presence in the Middle East, Tehran strikes US assets – military, economic and energy. After condemning the Iranian attacks Egypt, an US ally, deployed air-defense systems and military personnel.