The attack is the first on Egyptian territory since the Iran war erupted in February, raising the risk of further widening the Middle East conflict.

Riyadh is now looking to use the Mediterranean route more extensively after the Houthis on July 20 threatened to target oil exports passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Cairo had focused on the threat of Houthi disruption at Bab al-Mandab, but a drone that set two gas vessels ablaze at a northern Egyptian port exposed a different vulnerability;…