Iran Makes a Sanctioned Aviation Expert Its Defense Minister

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents Iran Makes a Sanctioned Aviation Expert Its Defense Minister.

Iran has appointed an aviation expert as Defense Minister who is simultaneously on the EU and US sanctions lists. Parliament in Tehran approved the appointment of Mehrdad Akhlaghi Ketabchi, ending a months-long standoff at the top of the ministry. Shortly after his confirmation, the new minister issued sharp threats directed at the US.

The appointment has a bitter backdrop: Akhlaghi Ketabchi's predecessor, Aziz Nasirzadeh, was killed in a US-Israeli attack in February. Since then, interim minister Majid Ebn al-Resa had been running the office on a temporary basis.

An Arms Expert on the Sanctions List

Akhlaghi Ketabchi was most recently head of the state-run Organization for Aerospace Industries and is thoroughly familiar with the country's procurement apparatus. Going forward, he heads exactly this area as minister. The fact that he is simultaneously on the US and EU sanctions lists was no obstacle for parliament – the members expressly approved the personnel decision.

"Horizontal Position" – the Threat on the Day of Confirmation

Akhlaghi Ketabchi used his first hours in office for an unusually sharp message directed at Washington. The US president should focus on safely withdrawing his troops from the region, he said. "If he drops a single bomb, he will see how many of his soldiers will have to leave the region in a horizontal position." Should the "American enemy" make another miscalculation, the response would be "surprising and comprehensive."

The trigger was a CNN report according to which the US has developed attack plans against Iranian energy and nuclear facilities. These could reportedly include the use of the largest non-nuclear bomb in the US arsenal – the GBU-43/B, also known as the "Mother of All Bombs."

At the Same Time, Tehran Offers the Strait of Hormuz

While Akhlaghi Ketabchi was issuing threats, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi struck a different tone on the sidelines of an Organization of Islamic Cooperation meeting in Baghdad. He reiterated Tehran's offer to the US to open the strategically important Strait of Hormuz on Iranian terms – and within seven days. Leadership in Tehran is currently reviewing a response from Washington on this offer.

Among the Iranian conditions, according to Araghchi's account, are an end to the US blockade of Iranian ports as well as an end to the sanctions on the country's oil exports.

What This Means for You

For you, this means: With Akhlaghi Ketabchi, an internationally sanctioned aviation expert takes over Iran's arms and procurement apparatus – a signal to Brussels and Washington that their sanctions lists do not drive personnel policy in Tehran. At the same time, the Hormuz proposal is a concrete diplomatic offer on the table that demands a response from Washington within seven days. Threat and offer are running in parallel.