Iran chooses new defense minister, targeted by UN sanctions

Iran chose a Defense Minister, Mehrdad Akhlaghi, on Sunday, eight months after the death of his predecessor killed at the end of February, on the first day of the war in the Middle East. This strategic position had since been occupied on an interim basis by a general of the Revolutionary Guards, Majid Ebnelreza, who was the deputy of the previous minister, General Aziz Nassirzadeh, in office from 2024 until his death on February 28 in the Israeli-American attack on Iran.

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.

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.

He took advantage of his appointment to warn that in the event of new American attacks against his country, Iran would respond by causing “considerable damage” in the Middle East. “Let everyone rest assured: they (the Americans, Editor’s note) will most certainly not dare attack us. But if they do so, they will expose themselves and the region to considerable damage,” Mehrdad Akhlaghi told the press.

Targeted by UN sanctions since 2007

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 (armed groups hostile to Israel and allies of Iran, Editor’s note), even more than before, will also constitute one of the major axes of my program,” the new minister declared before Parliament, according to comments reported by the Tasnim press agency.