Egypt says unidentified drone hit vessels in port US military says it hit Iranian Revolutionary Guards' military HQs, drone facilities Strikes in retaliation for Iran firing on US forces in region Oil prices supported by widening conflict Saudi Arabia joins US strikes, also warns against further escalation By Nafisa Eltahir, Elwely Elwelly and Tala Ramadan, ReutersA drone [] https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/837044/in-major-middle-east-escalation-security-firm-says-drone-hits-storage-tanker-at-egyptian-port strike on gas vessels in Egypt's Mediterranean port of Damietta] signalled a potential new front in the US-Iran war, raising the prospect of threats to navigation through the Suez Canal, a last remaining safe export route for Saudi oil.The Egyptian cabinet said on Thursday (all times local) 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. It said no party had claimed responsibility and authorities were taking measures to protect Egypt's national security.Trading sources familiar with the incident said the drone hit US-owned gas storage tanker Energos Winter, causing a fire that spread to another vessel. Overnight, the US military said it struck dozens of targets in Iran after Tehran fired at US forces in the region.US Central Command said it carried out a two-hour operation launched at midnight targeting Iran's Revolutionary Guards' military command centres and drone facilities, aiming "to further diminish threats posed by Iran and its proxies to American forces, commercial shipping, and neighbouring Gulf countries".Iran's state media reported that three people were killed in US strikes on Qeshm Island.The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps pledged to retaliate. "With the help of God, the aggressor will be punished today," it said, according to a statement carried by state media.An Iranian attack on Thursday hit a building belonging to a Chinese company in northern Kuwait, killing a worker and inflicting significant damage, Kuwait's Defence Ministry said.Jordan's armed forces said they had thwarted a new Iranian attempt to target the kingdom, intercepting five missiles. On Wednesday, Iran also fired ballistic missiles at US bases in Jordan, which have lately become primary Iranian targets.Boats anchored off Oman's northern Musandam Peninsula near the Strait of Hormuz on June 27, 2026.AFPSaudis join US strikesIn a first in the five-month war, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday publicly joined strikes alongside US forces, targeting Iran-aligned groups in eastern Iraq, in retaliation for drone attacks on Saudi oil targets launched from Iraq.After the joint attacks, Saudi Arabia's defence minister met Vice President JD Vance in Washington on Wednesday to urge the Trump administration not to escalate the conflict further, two sources told Reuters.The war began in February, when the US and Israel launched a bombing campaign in Iran that President Donald Trump said would last only a few weeks. A temporary ceasefire agreement in June collapsed amid renewed fighting over the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway that Iran says it now controls.The latest strikes in Iraq and Egypt threatened to draw more Middle Eastern countries into the conflict, after the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen declared a naval blockade last week on Saudi Arabia, threatening the alternative Red Sea route for its oil to Asia.Trump said he would hit Iran hard for firing missiles at US forces, but that Washington was also still seeking a peace deal to end a conflict that has roiled global energy and finance markets. Oil prices rose for a second day on the renewed fighting, before paring some gains with benchmark Brent crude trading around the US$90 (NZ$153) mark.Vessels are seen anchored in Bandar Abbas along the Strait of Hormuz on June 18, 2026.AMIRHOSSEIN KHORGOOEI / ISNA / AFPIran controls crucial shipping waterwayIran said on Wednesday that it struck three tankers attempting to transit through the Strait of Hormuz along an unauthorised route. However, a QatarEnergy-controlled liquefied natural gas tanker exited the strait overnight, the first such vessel recorded by ship-tracking data leaving the waterway since July 11.Iran's semi-official news agency Fars said Tehran had given its permission for the tanker to pass.Oman has presented Iran with a plan backed by Gulf states to manage the Strait of Hormuz, including collecting voluntary fees for using it, sources told Reuters on Tuesday. But Iran rejected the Omani proposal on Wednesday.After the war exposed gaps in Iran's ability to protect military sites and strategic infrastructure, Tehran was expected to receive within weeks a first shipment out of up to 400 Chinese-made shoulder-fired air-defence missile launchers, three sources familiar with the deal told Reuters.Iran's Foreign Ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment, while China's Foreign Ministry denied the report.-Reuters