Iran31 July, 20263 min read
Abbas Araghchi Warns Of Israeli False-Flag Plots After Damietta Port Drone Attack
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Araghchi warned of Israeli false-flag operations in the region. Egypt is an important regional partner; its security is Iran's utmost priority.
Damietta Drone Sparks Warning
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged vigilance against Israeli “false-flag operations” after Egyptian authorities reported a drone attack on Egypt’s Damietta Port that caused an explosion and fire involving two ships, with no casualties reported. In a message posted on X on Thursday, Araghchi said, “Egypt is an important friend and partner in the region, and its security is of utmost importance to us,” framing Egypt’s security as central to Iran’s concerns. Araghchi added, “We must all be vigilant against Israeli plots and false-flag operations designed to undermine regional peace,” responding to Western media reports attempting to link the unclaimed Damietta incident to Iran.
The incident was reported as unclaimed, with the fire quickly brought under control, and Iranian remarks came after US President Donald Trump said he had been briefed on what happened in Damietta and implied Iran or resistance groups were responsible. The same Reuters-linked framing described the event as being tied by Western outlets to a so-called “Iran war,” which Tehran said was aimed at fabricating pretexts and sowing discord among regional nations.
Egypt, Arab League, Trump
Egyptian authorities said the Damietta Port fire involving two vessels “was caused by a drone,” while also stating that investigations are ongoing to determine the circumstances and safeguard Egypt’s interests and national security. Rudaw reported that Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy “expressed his strongest condemnation of the attack targeting two ships in the port of Damietta,” calling it “an unacceptable aggression” and warning of “the consequences of what some parties may commit in desperate, cowardly attempts to expand the scope of the ongoing regional conflict.” Rudaw also said Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was quoted by his spokesman as telling Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in a phone call that the Middle East conflict “was facing a serious escalation,” stressing the need for “the international community to work together to halt this escalation.”
In the same account, Trump was described as implying Iran or resistance groups were responsible for the Damietta incident, while Iran rejected involvement in actions targeting friendly countries and said it has a long record of exposing Israel’s false-flag operations. Rudaw further placed the Damietta episode inside a wider pattern of escalations, noting that the US and Israel launched a large-scale aerial campaign against Iran in late February and that Tehran carried out thousands of drone and missile strikes across the Middle East.
Regional Fallout and Escalation
Tehran’s warnings about Israeli “false-flag operations” were paired with continued emphasis on Egypt as a “friend and partner,” with multiple outlets quoting Araghchi’s X posts that linked the threat to undermining regional peace. In a separate report, Tسنیم said Araghchi cautioned that “We must all be vigilant against Israeli plots and false-flag operations designed to undermine regional peace,” while also noting that some US officials sought to insinuate Iranian involvement despite the absence of any evidence. Tسنیم added that Egyptian authorities recovered the drone’s wreckage for forensic analysis and stressed that the investigation is ongoing and that conclusions would be based on facts rather than speculation.
The same account said US President Donald Trump suggested, without presenting evidence, that Iran could be responsible and threatened a forceful US response, keeping the Damietta incident tied to broader confrontation dynamics. Across the coverage, the core thread remained that Araghchi’s message was intended to counter attempts to connect the unclaimed Damietta attack to Iran, while Iran simultaneously cast the dispute as part of a struggle over regional escalation and “Muslim solidarity.”