A banner featuring Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is unfurled on a street in Tehran on Oct. 13, 2026. (Credit: Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters)
Mehrdad Akhlaghi, who is subject to U.N. sanctions, formally became Iran’s defense minister on Sunday, replacing his predecessor, who was killed in Israeli-American strikes on the first day of the war in late February, AFP reported.
“Mehrdad Akhlaghi was appointed defense minister following a vote” in Parliament, Iranian state television reported.
For nearly eight months, the strategic post had been held on an interim basis by Majid Ebnelreza, a general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who served as deputy to the previous minister, Gen. Aziz Nassirzadeh. Nassirzadeh had been in office since 2024 and was killed on Feb. 28.
Mehrdad Akhlaghi, who is subject to U.N. sanctions, formally became Iran’s defense minister on Sunday, replacing his predecessor, who was killed in Israeli-American strikes on the first day of the war in late February, AFP reported.
“Mehrdad Akhlaghi was appointed defense minister following a vote” in Parliament, Iranian state television reported.
For nearly eight months, the strategic post had been held on an interim basis by Majid Ebnelreza, a general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who served as deputy to the previous minister, Gen. Aziz Nassirzadeh. Nassirzadeh had been in office since 2024 and was killed on Feb. 28.
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