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Ethiopia Defies Int’l Pressure over GERD, Says to Build over 100 Dams

File photo of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. (AP)
File photo of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. (AP)
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Ethiopia Defies Int’l Pressure over GERD, Says to Build over 100 Dams

File photo of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. (AP)
File photo of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. (AP)

Ethiopia has defied the international pressure on it due to the dispute with Egypt and Sudan over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said Addis Ababa plans to build more than 100 small and medium dams in various areas across the country in the upcoming fiscal year.

“This is the only way to resist any forces opposed to Ethiopia,” Ahmed stressed.

He made his remarks during the laying of the foundation stone for the construction of the first phase of the Adama-Awash 60-kilometer-long highway project, which aims to enhance social and economic integration with Djibouti and the nearby areas of Adama.

The PM affirmed that the new dams will boost agricultural production, which is expected to triple to ensure food security.

He did not disclose further details on the locations of these dams or the rivers they will be built on. Nine major rivers pass through the country.

Ahmed stressed the need for all Ethiopians to join hands to achieve these ambitions and other development programs.

Regarding Addis Ababa’s relation with the rest of the world, Ahmed said ties are based on diplomacy since Ethiopia is one of the co-founders of the Organization of African Unity.

Commenting on recent negative comments against Ethiopia, he stated they are not based on “actual facts” and aim to undermine the country’s long-standing diplomatic relations with all world countries.

Ethiopia’s economy will soon boom, he vowed, underscoring the importance of unity during this phase.

Addis Ababa began constructing the 1.8-kilometer-long GERD in 2011 to generate power. The construction process has reached 80 percent, a jump from 74 percent in June 2020, according to Ethiopia’s Ministry of Water, Energy and Irrigation.

Egypt and Sudan stress the need to reach a binding and comprehensive agreement that guarantees the rights and interests of the three countries and includes a mechanism for settling disputes on the filling and operation of the dam.

They fear the potential negative impact of GERD on the flow of their annual share of the Nile’s 55.5 billion cubic meters of water.

Ethiopia announced it still had plans to move forward with the second phase of filling the mega-dam when the rainy season begins in July.

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Iran Discloses New Details of Israeli Attempt to Assassinate Heads of Three Govt. Branches

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian meets with Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and the head of the judiciary, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei, on Saturday evening (Iranian Presidency) 
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian meets with Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and the head of the judiciary, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei, on Saturday evening (Iranian Presidency) 
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Iran Discloses New Details of Israeli Attempt to Assassinate Heads of Three Govt. Branches

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian meets with Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and the head of the judiciary, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei, on Saturday evening (Iranian Presidency) 
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian meets with Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and the head of the judiciary, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei, on Saturday evening (Iranian Presidency) 

The Fars news agency on Sunday disclosed new details of an assassination attempt that targeted a high-level meeting of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council attended by heads of the three government branches and high-ranking officials during the 12-day war between Tehran and Tel Aviv.

Iran has launched a comprehensive investigation into the assassination attempt, and there is suspicion that an agent was involved, informed sources told the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps-affiliated news agency.

Fars said that in the attack, “some officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian, suffered minor injuries to their legs while leaving the meeting,” and added that they escaped through “an emergency hatch that had been planned in advance.”

The speaker of Iran's parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and the head of the judiciary, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei, were also said to have been in the meeting.

According to Fars, the attack occurred on Monday, June 16, at the lower levels of a secure government facility in western Tehran.

Fars said the attack was modeled after an Israeli plan to assassinate Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, involving the launch of six bombs or missiles aimed at entry and exit points to block evacuation routes and disrupt ventilation.

Following the explosions, power was cut to the targeted floor. However, Iranian officials reportedly managed to escape through a pre-designated emergency hatch.

In an interview last week with Tucker Carlson, the political commentator, Pezeshkian accused Israel of trying to assassinate him but did not admit to having being injured. “They did try, yes... They acted accordingly, but they failed,” he said.

Hours after the Fars news agency published its report, a spokesman of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council told the Nour News agency that “the Israeli attack on a secret meeting of the Council at a highly protected site, attended by heads of authorities and senior military and political leaders, set a dangerous precedent and sounded the alarm about the possibility of a security breach and the need to strengthen protection at the highest levels.”

“The attack is a dangerous threat to Iran not only in its timing and location, but also in the fact that it targeted one of the most secret and important meetings of the Iranian state,” the news agency wrote.

Vahid Jalili, the chief for cultural affairs and policy evolution at the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) and the brother of Saeed Jalili, Khamenei’s representative in the Supreme National Security Council, was the first to speak about the attack.

He said the meeting of heads of the government branches on June16 was targeted by Israeli attacks just hours before the missile strike on the broadcasting building.

In a related development, the wife of Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ air force, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Iran during the 12-day war, said her husband received a phone call from his workplace, and headed there before he was killed.

In an interview with the Jamaran website, affiliated to the Khomeini Foundation, she said “Amir returned home from a ceremony, slept for about half an hour, before receiving the phone call.”

She added, “Our house was attacked after the dawn prayer.”