Egypt confirms unidentified drone caused fire at Mediterranean port

With the Middle East teetering on the brink of an expanded war, Egypt has come under attack for the first time.

It confirmed that an explosion at its Damietta port – about 60 kilometres west of the Mediterranean entrance to the Suez Canal - was caused by an unidentified drone.

Cairo says the attack, which comes as the United States and Iran renew hostilities, caused a fire on two gas vessels but that operations at the port are ongoing.

While energy facilities elsewhere in the region have been hit by drones and missiles over the course of the US and Israel's war on Iran, Egypt had so far been spared.

The authorities said an inquiry is ongoing to determine the circumstances of the incident and to take the “necessary measures to preserve Egypt's interests and national security”.

No one was injured in the incident.

The attack raises the prospects of threats to navigation through the Suez Canal which links the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, and is a last safe export route for Saudi oil.