Egypt Warns Ethiopia against Holding Nile ‘Hostage’

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. (AFP file photo)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. (AFP file photo)
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Egypt Warns Ethiopia against Holding Nile ‘Hostage’

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. (AFP file photo)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. (AFP file photo)

Egypt warned Ethiopia against prolonging the negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), saying it should not continue to build the dam without reaching an agreement that addresses its fears regarding its share of the Nile River.

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry asserted that his country does not negotiate for the sake of negotiating, stressing that Egypt will not accept the consolidation of the status quo on the ground.

Egypt will not be a hostage to the efforts to impose hegemony on the Nile River, he declared before parliament.

Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan have been holding negotiations to resolve the dispute over the GERD for about ten years, without reaching an agreement despite the involvement of the United States, World Bank and African Union.

Egypt and Sudan are demanding a “legally binding” agreement that regulates the filling and operating of the dam, which is built on the main tributary of the Nile, and its reservoir capacity is set to reach about 74 billion cubic meters.

Shoukry explained that Cairo seeks a just and balanced GERD agreement that ensures the preservation of Egypt's interests and water rights.

He pointed out that his country participated in several rounds sponsored by the United States and World Bank, which led to an integrated agreement on the dam, which Egypt initialed.

Ethiopia refused to sign the agreement and proceeded unilaterally to fill the reservoir as a first stage.

Egypt referred the file to the United Nations Security Council, which held a session in June in a historical precedent, to discuss the political and technical implications of GERD.

This is the first time the Security Council discusses an issue related to the use and exploitation of water resources and transboundary rivers.

Shoukry said that this move was followed by a series of negotiations under the auspices of the African Union.

Egypt engaged in the negotiations as a tool to reach a fair agreement that would preserve its water rights, stressed the minister.

Egyptian diplomacy also culminated in two decisions during the Arab League ministerial meeting in 2020 and which expressed Arab solidarity with Cairo’s fight for its water rights.

Shoukry said that state agencies are following up on the developments related to the dam on a daily basis, adding that Egypt is keen on maintaining its relations with its African neighbors, especially Ethiopia.

Unfortunately, Ethiopia is so far unwilling to negotiate a real solution, said Shoukry, stressing that Cairo will continue to work to reach a solution that preserves its water rights.



US to Pull Some Personnel from the Middle East amid Rising Tensions with Iran

The US embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. (Reuters file)
The US embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. (Reuters file)
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US to Pull Some Personnel from the Middle East amid Rising Tensions with Iran

The US embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. (Reuters file)
The US embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. (Reuters file)

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday US personnel were being moved out of the Middle East because "it could be a dangerous place," adding that the United States would not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.

Reuters reported earlier on Wednesday that the US is preparing a partial evacuation of its Iraqi embassy and will allow military dependents to leave locations around the Middle East due to heightened security risks in the region, according to US and Iraqi sources.

The four US and two Iraqi sources did not say what security risks had prompted the decision and reports of the potential evacuation pushed up oil prices by more than 4%.

The State Department updated its worldwide travel advisory on Wednesday evening to reflect the latest US posture. “On June 11, the Department of State ordered the departure of non-emergency US government personnel due to heightened regional tensions,” the advisory said.

The decision by the US to evacuate some personnel comes at a volatile moment in the region. Trump's efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Iran appear to be deadlocked and US intelligence indicates that Israel has been making preparations for a strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.

"They are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place, and we'll see what happens," Trump told reporters. "We've given notice to move out."

Asked whether anything can be done to lower the temperature in the region, Trump said: "They can't have a nuclear weapon. Very simple, they can't have a nuclear weapon."

Trump has repeatedly threatened to strike Iran if stuttering talks over its nuclear program fail and in an interview released earlier on Wednesday said he was growing less confident that Tehran would agree to stop enriching uranium, a key American demand.

Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh also said on Wednesday that if Iran was subjected to strikes it would retaliate by hitting US bases in the region.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has authorized the voluntary departure of military dependents from locations across the Middle East, a US official said.

"The State Department is set to have an ordered departure for (the) US embassy in Baghdad. The intent is to do it through commercial means, but the US military is standing by if help is requested," a third US official said.

Iraq's state news agency cited a government source as saying Baghdad had not recorded any security indication that called for an evacuation.

Another US official said that there was no change in operations at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest US military base in the Middle East and that no evacuation order had been issued for employees or families linked to the US embassy in Qatar, which was operating as usual.