Iran’s Parliament Confirms Missile-Industry Veteran Mehrdad Akhlaghi Ketabchi as Defence Minister
Iran’s parliament confirmed Mehrdad Akhlaghi Ketabchi as Minister of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics on Sunday 18 October 2026, giving the ministry a permanent head for the first time since Aziz Nasirzadeh was killed in US-Israeli strikes in February. He won 237 votes to 15, with no abstentions, according to a government statement reported by The National.
The vote
Lawmakers held the confidence vote in an online session chaired by Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the Tasnim news agency reported. Reports on the nominee’s programme from the parliamentary committees on national security and foreign policy and on industries and mines were read out before supporters and opponents spoke and Akhlaghi answered. Mehr news agency also reported the result. President Masoud Pezeshkian put his name forward on 5 October, The National said. Tasnim describes him as the Islamic Republic’s 15th defence minister.
Akhlaghi takes over from Majid Ebn al-Reza, who had run the ministry in an acting capacity since Nasirzadeh’s death, Reuters reported. Iran International dates Nasirzadeh’s death to 28 February, the first day of the US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
What he told parliament
In the programme he presented to lawmakers, Akhlaghi pledged to rebuild Iran’s military-industrial infrastructure, speed up the development of defence technologies and expand cooperation with private-sector companies, according to Reuters. The National said he also promised to restructure the ministry.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the session, he said Iran had taken “the necessary measures” against a possible US attack using the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, known as the “mother of all bombs”, the ISNA agency reported, according to The National. CNN reported this week that US strike plans could include the weapon. DefenceMENA reports these remarks as statements; they do not establish any change in Iran’s capabilities.
A career in missile production
Unlike several predecessors who rose through military command, Akhlaghi has spent more than four decades in Iran’s defence industries. He headed the Shahid Bagheri Industrial Group, a subsidiary of the Aerospace Industries Organization (AIO) that works on solid-propellant ballistic missiles, and was appointed managing director of the AIO in November 2014, Iran International reported. He later led the Defence Industries Organization, which produces conventional weapons for the armed forces.
He is under sanctions. Reuters says he is subject to US and EU measures over his work in the defence sector; The National reports that the UN listed him in 2007 in connection with the Shahid Bagheri group.
Regional context
The appointment puts an industrialist rather than a commander in charge of the ministry that manages Iran’s defence production and procurement, at a time of continuing incidents at sea around the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman. DefenceMENA has reported on the sinking of the GFS Pride in the Strait of Hormuz and on a tug hit by two unidentified projectiles off Khor Fakkan on 18 October; no party has been officially identified as responsible for the tug attack.
Sources
- Tasnim News Agency: Akhlaqi wins parliament’s confidence vote for Iran defense minister (18 October 2026)
- Mehr News Agency: Iran parliament approves Akhlaghi as new defense minister (18 October 2026)
- Reuters via StreetInsider: Iran’s parliament approves Mehrdad Akhlaqi as minister of defence (18 October 2026)
- The National: Iran names new defence minister as he warns US over “Mother of All Bombs” (18 October 2026)
- Iran International: Architect of Guards’ missiles becomes Iran’s defense minister (18 October 2026)
