Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters: We Are Not Responsible for the Unsuccessful Experience of the Gotvand Dam

Abadollah Abdollahi, the commander of Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters, stated that this headquarters had no role in the design of the Gotvand Dam and was only the executor of the project; therefore, it is not responsible for 'this unsuccessful experience.' In an interview with ILNA regarding the problems arising from the Gotvand Dam, he said, 'In the Gotvand Dam project, we were only responsible for the execution of the work and were not in charge of the initial design.' The Gotvand Olia Dam, built on the Karun River, is the tallest earth dam in Iran, and its reservoir is the second-largest artificial lake in the country after the Karkheh. The construction and filling of this dam have reportedly caused numerous environmental, social, and economic issues for Khuzestan province, according to some experts. The Sepasad Company, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was the builder, and the Mahab Quds Company was the consultant for the Gotvand Dam. Part of the shares of Mahab Quds belongs to the Astan Quds Razavi. Meanwhile, Abdollahi mentioned in an interview with ILNA about 'the new plan of the headquarters to enter dam construction projects considering the relatively unsuccessful experience in constructing the Gotvand Dam,' stating, 'The unsuccessful experience does not belong to us; moreover, we are responsible for execution. If we encountered a salt dome in the Gotvand Dam, this issue relates to the consultant's design.' The commander of Khatam al-Anbiya added, 'In the Gotvand Dam project, we were only responsible for the execution of the work and were not in charge of the initial design, and it is not the case that we say that because of the existence of the salt dome, the work of this magnitude and the entire property of the dam has been lost.' Following the filling of the Gotvand Dam in 2011, which is recognized as the most expensive dam in Iran, warnings were raised about water infiltrating the salt layers within this dam. In this regard, Ismail Kahrm, an environmental expert in Tehran, previously told Radio Farda, 'The Gotvand Dam has caused the salinity of the Karun River... The construction of this dam has rendered many agricultural lands in Khuzestan province unusable and destroyed them.' Hossein Fazeli, the director of the National Conference Committee on the Karun River, also emphasized last year that 'the warnings of some members of parliament to the Minister of Energy regarding the problems of the Gotvand Dam, the emphasis of the head of the Court of Audit of the country on accountability for the issues of this dam, the destruction of agriculture in Khuzestan province, and the long-term rendering of its lands uncultivated have not had any impact on the acceptance of the salinity of the Gotvand Dam and endangering the lives of people in the minds of the custodians of this dam.' Following concerns regarding the Gotvand Dam, a study plan to investigate solutions for the Gotvand Dam was entrusted to Chamran University of Ahvaz, which ultimately proposed the dismantling of this dam after studying the options ahead, a proposal that was approved by the Environmental Protection Organization and the Ministry of Agriculture Jihad. However, before the report from Chamran University was published, the Ministry of Energy assigned the responsibility of studying solutions to the Gotvand Dam problem to Tehran University. Previously, Iranian environmental experts had stated that since Mahab Quds was responsible for the study and Sepasad (affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) was responsible for the execution of the Gotvand Dam, the demolition and dismantling of the Gotvand Dam would not only question the credibility of these two companies but could also pave the way for claims for damages against them. During Hassan Rouhani's government, the Environmental Organization and the Ministry of Energy had differing opinions on the future of the Gotvand Dam. Meanwhile, Eshaq Jahangiri, the first vice president of Iran, stated last year that this dam is 'one of the polluting factors' of the Karun River water, and the consultants of this dam did not carry out the necessary precision and calculations in their studies. Jahangiri had asked the responsible agencies to study the results of the Tehran University Water Institute's research on ways to reduce the salinity of the Gotvand Dam water and provide their opinions so that they could be submitted to the Supreme Water Council for decision-making. In this context, Tehran University has been tasked with addressing the situation of the Gotvand Dam.