Parliament approved his appointment.. Who is the new Iranian Minister of Defense?

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Mehrdad Akhlaqi Kitabchi, who is under UN sanctions, officially became Iran's new defense minister on Sunday, after his predecessor was killed at the beginning of the war launched by the United States and Israel on February 28.

The Shura Council (Parliament) approved in a vote the appointment of Akhlaqi as Minister of Defense, after the position was held by acting Brigadier General of the Revolutionary Guard, Majeed Ibn Al-Rida, who worked as deputy to the late former minister, Brigadier General Aziz Nasir Zadeh.

Ketabchi, who was nominated by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to assume the position in early October, is considered a veteran official in the Iranian defense industries. He spent many years managing institutions related to the space industries and the missile program, before assuming leadership of the ministry, which plays a pivotal role in developing Iranian weapons and military technologies.

The new minister was born in 1958 in the city of Rasht, the capital of Gilan Province in northern Iran.

While there is not much public information available about his academic achievements and personal life.

But his public presence was mainly linked to his administrative positions in the defense industries and to his name mentioned in international sanctions documents. Published reports indicated that his experience in the Iranian Ministry of Defense extends for about 42 years

His name has appeared since the mid-2000s in documents related to the Iranian missile program. At a previous stage, Katabchi assumed the presidency of the “Shahid Bagheri” industrial group, which is linked to the aerospace and space industries system affiliated with the Ministry of Defense, according to UN Security Council documents. These documents linked this group to the development and production of solid-fueled ballistic missiles.

In addition, his name was mentioned in the context of the group in Resolution 1747 issued by the Security Council in March 2007.

In November 2014, the then Iranian Minister of Defense, Hossein Dehghan, appointed Katabchi as Director General of the Aerospace Industries Organization, which is one of the industrial institutions affiliated with the Ministry of Defense, and whose activities are related to the development and production of missile and space equipment.

European Union documents also included Katabchi’s name in the context of the “Shahid Bagheri” industrial group, which is included on European sanctions lists.

This indicates that the Bezeshkian government relies on an official with a professional background concentrated in the military and space industries, and not in diplomacy or political administration. This background may suggest a continued focus on weapons production, the missile program and the development of defense technologies.

During the procedures for considering his nomination, Iranian officials emphasized his experience in the defense industries and the role of these industries in enhancing the country's military capabilities.

However, no independent and comprehensive information has been published about the details of his executive program at the Ministry, defense spending priorities, or possible changes in the command structure and weapons production.

But in his first statement, after Parliament ratified his appointment, the new Defense Minister said: “If the enemy attacks, he will suffer very serious damage.”