LONDON/CAIRO/WASHINGTON ¨C A drone hit a U.S.-owned gas storage tanker at Egypt¡¯s Mediterranean port of Damietta, British maritime security firm Ambrey said in an initial assessment on Wednesday, and U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to retaliate against Iran for an overnight attack, as the Middle East conflict appeared to expand beyond its main fronts.
A statement from Egypt¡¯s petroleum ministry confirmed a fire at the port but made no mention of a drone ?attack. It was not immediately clear who was responsible. The drone hit floating storage tanker Energos Winter, causing a fire that then spread to another vessel, three trading sources familiar with the ?incident said. ?The fire was dealt with immediately, with no casualties, the petroleum ministry said. The incident, which Trump said he had been briefed on, ?came amid a sharp escalation in the conflict, with Iran firing missiles at U.S. forces in Jordan and the United States and Saudi Arabia striking Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq.
Alongside Yemen¡¯s Houthi group declaring a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, the latest exchanges suggest the conflict is spreading farther than it has since U.S. and Israel started bombing Iran in February.
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