Meet Mehrdad Akhlaghi Ketabchi, Iran's defense minister nominee

Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian has nominated senior defense official Mehrdad Akhlaghi Ketabchi to be Iran’s next defense minister. Akhlaghi Ketabchi, who is under sanctions by the United States and United Nations, has extensive experience in Iran’s aerospace and defense industries, and will replace Brig. Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh, who was killed in an Israeli strike at the start of the US-Israel-Iran war in February. Pezeshkian nominated Akhlaghi Ketabchi on Monday via a letter to parliament speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf. He will need to receive a confidence vote from lawmakers following a review by committees in the legislature before he can assume the position. The semiofficial Tasnim News Agency reported on Wednesday that two online sessions with Akhlaghi Ketabchi will take place next week. Parliament spokesperson Abbas Goudarzi said the confidence vote is likely to occur on Oct. 18. Brig. Gen. Majid Ebn al-Reza has been serving as acting defense minister since Nasirzadeh’s death.