Egypt and Sudan have welcomed an offer by U.S. President Donald Trump to restart mediation with Ethiopia in a bid to resolve the long-running dispute over Nile River water sharing.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Saturday that he valued Washington’s willingness to mediate, after Trump said the United States was ready to relaunch talks aimed at reaching a lasting agreement.
In a post on X, Sisi said he had responded to a letter from Trump by reaffirming Egypt’s position and its concerns over water security linked to Ethiopia’s disputed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
Trump said on Friday that he was prepared to restart U.S.-led mediation between Egypt and Ethiopia, arguing that no country should unilaterally control the Nile’s resources to the detriment of its neighbours.
In a letter dated 16 January and shared on Truth Social, Trump stressed the importance of the Nile to Egypt and said any agreement must protect the long-term water needs of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia.
Sudan’s army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan also welcomed the mediation offer on Saturday, according to Sudanese officials.
Trump said the proposed talks would rely on technical expertise and fair, transparent negotiations, with the United States playing a role in coordination and monitoring. He added that predictable water releases during droughts were essential for Egypt and Sudan, while allowing Ethiopia to generate electricity.
The letter was also shared with the leaders of Ethiopia and Sudan, as well as with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Trump said.
The dispute centres on Ethiopia’s $5bn GERD, built on the Blue Nile. Egypt says the project threatens its water security, while Ethiopia argues the dam is vital for national development and electricity generation.
Egypt depends on the Nile for more than 90% of its freshwater needs and views any reduction in downstream flow as an existential threat to food security, population growth and economic stability.
Ethiopia, where much of the Nile’s water originates, rejects those concerns and says the dam will not cause significant harm. Sudan, which lies between the two countries, has raised concerns about water regulation, dam safety and flood risks if the project is operated without coordination.
Negotiations between the three countries have repeatedly stalled over the past decade. Colonial-era water agreements that largely favoured Egypt and Sudan are rejected by Ethiopia, adding a legal and historical dimension to the dispute.
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U.S. President Donald Trump has said the United States has a “virtually unlimited supply” of munitions and is capable of sustaining military action indefinitely, as the conflict with Iran entered its fourth day.
The United Nations has called for an investigation into a deadly attack on a girls’ primary school in Iran, which Iranian officials say has killed more than 100 children. The U.S. has said its forces “would not” deliberately target a school.
Shahid Motahari Sub-Speciality Hospital in northern Tehran and parts of the Golestan Palace were bombed on day two of the U.S.‑Israel strikes. AnewZ Touraj Shiralilou is in Iran's capital city and said that the facility was flattened in an airstrike.
The Kremlin is utilising the recent United States and Israeli military strikes on Iran to validate its ongoing war in Ukraine. Russian officials are pointing to the escalation in the Middle East as evidence that Western nations do not adhere to international rules.
Saudi Arabia’s state oil giant Saudi Aramco closed its Ras Tanura refinery on Monday following an Iranian drone strike, an industry source told Reuters as Tehran retaliated across the Gulf after a U.S.-Israeli attack on Iranian targets over the weekend.
The Middle East crisis intensifies after the deadly attack on the compound of the Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei on Saturday that killed him, other family members and senior figures. Iran has launched retaliatory strikes on U.S. targets in the region.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. military has enough stockpiled weapons to fight wars "forever"; in a social media post late on Monday. The remarks came hours before conflict in Iran and the Middle East entered its fourth day.
Türkiye raised its security level for Turkish-flagged vessels in the Strait of Hormuz to Level 3 on Sunday (2 March). The development follows Iranian restrictions on shipping after U.S. and Israeli strikes and confirmation of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s death.
Strikes across the Middle East are intensifying, fuelling travel disruption, driving up global energy prices and forcing diplomatic missions to shut their doors as tensions continue to rise.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said the United States has a “virtually unlimited supply” of munitions and is capable of sustaining military action indefinitely, as the conflict with Iran entered its fourth day.
The United Nations has called for an investigation into a deadly attack on a girls’ primary school in Iran, which Iranian officials say has killed more than 100 children. The U.S. has said its forces “would not” deliberately target a school.
U.S. first lady, Melania Trump chaired a UN Security Council meeting on children and education in conflict on Monday (2 March), a move criticised by Iran as hypocritical following U.S. and Israeli strikes that triggered a UN warning about risks to children.
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