Iran’s parliament on Sunday, 18 October, approved Mehrdad Akhlaqi Ketabchi as defence minister. He replaced Majid Ebn al-Reza, who had been serving in an acting capacity.
This was reported by Reuters.
Ketabchi replaced Majid Ebn al-Reza, who had been acting defence minister after the death of the previous head of the ministry, Aziz Nasirzadeh, in US and Israeli strikes in February.
The new minister has worked in Iran’s defence industry for decades and has held senior roles in the aerospace and missile sectors. Because of his work in the defence field, Ketabchi is under US and European Union sanctions.
While presenting his programme, Ketabchi pledged to rebuild Iran’s military-industrial infrastructure, speed up the development of defence technologies and expand co-operation with private companies.
At the same time, he warned the United States of a major response in the event of new strikes.
“If the American enemy miscalculates again, the response of the brave Iranian people and the warriors of Islam will be unexpected and large-scale,” the minister said.
Ketabchi also said Tehran had taken the necessary measures in case the United States uses the powerful GBU-43/B aerial bomb, known as the “mother of all bombs”.
According to CNN, the US military has drawn up plans for strikes on Iran that could involve using this bomb against the country’s energy infrastructure and nuclear facilities if US President Donald Trump orders a resumption of combat operations.
Ketabchi urged the American president to focus on the safe withdrawal of US troops from the region and warned of possible losses in the event of another strike.