Updated

Iran's parliament approved Mehrdad Akhlaghi Ketabchi, a sanctioned veteran of the Revolutionary Guards' missile program, as the country's new Minister of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics on October 18, 2026, filling a post left vacant after his predecessor Aziz Nasirzadeh was killed in US-Israeli strikes in February. President Masoud Pezeshkian and IRGC commanders praised the confirmation as a sign of unity, and Akhlaghi pledged full commitment while dismissing Trump's renewed threats against Iran as bluster.