Iran: Tehran confirms sanctioned defense minister in office – threats against USA

The Iranian parliament has approved the appointment of aviation expert Mehrdad Achlaki Ketabchi as the new defense minister. This ended a months-long impasse at the top of the ministry on Sunday. The former head of the state organization for the aerospace industry will now head the country's defense and procurement apparatus. He is on the US and EU sanctions lists. Akhlaki Ketabtschi succeeds interim minister Majid Ebn al-Reza, who took over the office on an interim basis after the previous department head, Aziz Nasirzadeh, was killed in a US-Israeli attack in February.

Shortly after his confirmation, the new department head made sharp threats to the USA. The US President should concentrate on safely withdrawing his troops from the region, said Akhlaki Ketabtschi. "If he drops a single bomb, he will see how many of his soldiers have to leave the region in a horizontal position."

The new minister was responding to a CNN report that the US had developed attack plans against Iranian energy and nuclear facilities. These could include the use of the largest non-nuclear bomb in the US arsenal. If the “American enemy” commits another miscalculation, the response will be “surprising and comprehensive,” Achlaki Ketabtschi continued.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi reiterated Tehran's offer to the US to open the Strait of Hormuz on Iranian terms. This could be done within seven days, Aragchi said on the sidelines of a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Baghdad. The leadership in Tehran is currently examining a response from Washington. The Iranian conditions include an end to the US blockade of Iranian ports and sanctions against the country's oil exports.