Iran appoints new defence minister nearly eight months into war

Iranian lawmakers on Sunday approved Mehrdad Akhlaghi as the country’s new defence minister, replacing Aziz Nasirzadeh, who was killed in a US-Israeli attack on the first day of the war.

“Members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly (parliament) today gave a vote of confidence to Mehrdad Akhlaghi, the nominee for minister of defence and armed forces logistics,” state television reported.

Akhlaghi secured 237 votes in favour out of 277 votes cast, according to the government website. The appointment comes nearly eight months after the initial US-Israeli strikes that triggered the conflict.

Nasirzadeh was killed on February 28 in an attack on a leadership compound, alongside former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior military commanders.

“If I receive parliament's vote of confidence, responsibility for the Ministry of Defence will fall to me at a sensitive juncture,” Akhlaghi said before the vote, according to the ISNA news agency.

“Under such circumstances, defending the country requires an accurate understanding of the environment, an understanding of the logic behind developments, the identification of influential trends, and preparedness to face different possible futures,” he added.

Although he does not hold a military rank, Akhlaghi has worked in the defence ministry for 42 years. He has headed the Iranian Defence Industries Organisation, the country’s state weapons manufacturer, since 2013.

The United Nations sanctioned Akhlaghi in 2007 over his involvement in nuclear or ballistic missile activities.