The Iranian parliament formally approved Mehdad Ahraji, a senior military expert, as the new Minister of Defense on Sunday.
Ahraji received 237 votes in favor, 15 against, and no abstentions. Previously, former Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh was killed in the first round of military strikes launched by the US and Israel against Iran in February. Following this, Iranian President Pezehiziyan appointed Saeed Majid Ebne Reza as acting Minister of Defense until Ahraji's formal parliamentary approval.
According to the West Asian News Agency (WANA), Ahraji spent his early years in military and weapons technology research before entering the defense industry, where he was responsible for weapons research and development and production management. Ahraji previously served as the general manager of the Iranian Aerospace Industry Organization and led the organization. He stated that missile and drone projects will be an important part of its military expansion plan. Ahraji pledged that the Iranian Ministry of Defense will vigorously promote drone research and development and production over the next 22 months, while also expanding the development of aerospace and satellite technologies. He stated in a parliamentary session, "We must manufacture military satellites independently and launch them ourselves." He also proposed advancing Iran's plan to independently develop a heavy fighter jet and expand the scale of outsourced component production in the defense manufacturing sector.
