Iran's parliament on Oct. 18 approved a new defense minister. The appointee, a
decades-long defense industry official with senior roles in aerospace and
missile programmes who is under U.S. and EU sanctions, told lawmakers he will
rebuild Iran's military-industrial base, speed defence-technology R&D and expand
cooperation with private firms. He said Tehran has taken necessary measures to
respond if the U.S. uses the 'Mother of All Bombs' and warned: 'If the U.S.
makes another strategic miscalculation, the Iranian people and Islamic fighters
will respond unexpectedly and on a large scale.' He added: 'The U.S. president
should focus on ensuring safe withdrawal of U.S. forces from our region. If he
drops a bomb, let's see how many U.S. soldiers are carried out of the region
sideways.'
