Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has warned against Israeli "false-flag operations" following a drone attack on a gas vessel at Egypt's Damietta Port, stressing Egypt's security is of "utmost importance" to Tehran.
In his Thursday post on the US social media company X, Araghchi described Egypt as "an important friend and partner in the region", adding "Its security is of utmost importance to us."
"We must all be vigilant against Israeli plots and false-flag operations designed to undermine regional peace," he wrote.
"The threat is clear, mutual, and fearful of Muslim solidarity," he added.
The comments came a day after a drone attack set two gas vessels ablaze at Egypt’s Damietta Port on the Mediterranean coast.
Egypt has not accused any party of the attacks.
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said early on Thursday that authorities had recovered the drone's wreckage and were conducting a security analysis to determine its origin, stressing that Cairo would base its conclusions on facts rather than speculation.
No country or group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Yemen's Houthi group also denied any involvement, calling reports they had attacked Egypt "unfounded rumours".
The Egyptian cabinet said on Thursday that an initial investigation showed that an unidentified drone caused a fire on Wednesday on two vessels at Damietta port, near the Suez Canal, which links the Mediterranean to the Red Sea.
Cairo says will not speculate
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el Sisi said the drone debris recovered from the Damietta Port attack are being analysed, and Cairo will not speculate on the source of the attack until facts are established.
He warned that the Middle East conflict was facing a serious escalation after a drone struck a US-owned gas tanker in an Egyptian port.
According to his spokesperson, during a call to Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, el Sisi "stressed the need for Egypt, Spain, Europe and the international community to work together to halt this escalation."
Since it began in February with US-Israeli war on Iran, the Middle East war has touched every country in the region, and some outside it.
While energy facilities elsewhere in the region have been repeatedly targeted by drones and missiles, Egypt had been spared until Wednesday, when an attack at a gas import hub sparked a fire that damaged two ships.
Maritime trade tracking firm Kpler identified the damaged ships as the Energos Winter storage and regasification vessel and the GasLog Salem tanker, saying they had been moved offshore after the incident.
A private security monitor, UK-based Ambrey, reported that the US-owned-and-operated floating storage vessel had been hit by at least one drone.
The authority that manages the port said it remained fully operational.
