Iran: The Islamic Republic finally appoints a Minister of Defense, eight months after the start of the war

Better late than never. This Sunday, Iran finally chose its new Minister of Defense, Mehrdad Akhlaghi, eight months after the death of his predecessor General Aziz Nassirzadeh, killed at the end of February in the Israeli-American attack. This strategic position has since been occupied on an interim basis by a general of the Revolutionary Guards, Majid Ebnelreza, who was the deputy of the previous minister.

This attack, in which Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Abdolrahim Mousavi, the head of the Revolutionary Guards Mohammad Pakpour, as well as Ali Shamkhani, an influential security advisor, were killed, marked the start of the war in the Middle East.

Targeted by UN sanctions

Mehrdad Akhlaghi received the vote of confidence from Parliament on Sunday, which must systematically give the green light for a minister to take office but can also dismiss him. This 68-year-old man, who is not a soldier, worked 42 years for the ministry he will now lead. Since 2013, he has been head of the Defense Industries Organization of Iran, an organization attached to the Ministry of Defense responsible for designing and manufacturing military equipment.

According to local media, Mehrdad Akhlaghi worked for many years in Iran's aerospace and ballistic industries. As such, it has been targeted since 2007 by UN sanctions in connection with Iran's ballistic and nuclear program, which has for decades fueled tensions with Western countries, in particular the United States but also its Israeli ally, sworn enemy of the Islamic Republic. Under these sanctions, any assets abroad are frozen.

“The strengthening of the Resistance Front”, which are the armed groups hostile to Israel and allied with Iran, “will constitute one of the major axes of my program”, declared the new minister before Parliament, according to comments reported by the Tasnim press agency.