The Iranian Parliament approved Mehrdad Ahlaki Kitabchi, who has 42 years of experience in defense industry, as defense and armed forces logistics minister with 237 votes in favor, 15 against, and abstentions absent. According to Kayhan, in the qualification session before taking office, Ahlaki told the 277 attending parliamentarians that Iran is on alert for a possible conflict with Israel and is prepared for what he calls the "4th war" scenario.
President Masoud Pezeshkian said in his remarks to the session that Ahlaki's 42 years of steady career in the ministry represented a guarantee of expertise. He noted that Ahlaki is "one of the individuals targeted by U.S. sanctions and on the U.S. target list," and wished him to "survive under protection and continue efforts to strengthen the country's defense power." Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf commemorated previous defense ministers Chamran, Namcu, Fekuri, Shemkani, and Nasirizedeh as "pioneers of the path of martyrdom." The chair of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Ibrahim Azizi, asked Ahlaki to shift the defense industry's "deployment" plan to the coastal regions of the Persian Gulf, where the threat is intensifying, and to increase economic transparency within the ministry.
According to the London-based opposition outlet Iran International, Ahlaki Kitabchi played a role in developing the IRGC's missile program and is a sanctioned defense industry manager; he took office following his predecessor's death in U.S. and Israeli strikes. According to the same source, Ahlaki said in the qualification session that Iran is "ready to pull the trigger" and prepared for a conflict against Israel that he calls the "4th war." IRGC Commander Major General Vahidi, according to Khabaronline, sent a congratulatory message to the new minister stating that Parliament's "definitive and meaningful" confidence vote reflects trust in his "tested competence."
How the Persian press covered it
| Source (orientation) | Headline / framing |
|---|---|
| Kayhan (hardline) | Carries voting details and the ceremonial, "martyrdom"-focused remarks of Pezeshkian and Qalibaf |
| Iran International (opposition, diaspora) | Introduces Ahlaki as "architect of the Sepah missile program," notes his predecessor's death in strikes, and features the "4th war" quote in the headline |
| ISNA / Khabaronline (semi-official / moderate conservative) | Avoids political friction; emphasizes former commander Rahim Safavi's "experienced" assessment and the IRGC's congratulatory message |
None of the three sources directly contradicts the others, but the weight given to Ahlaki's background and the "4th war" remark varies significantly based on the outlet's political orientation.
Context
Ahlaki's appointment coincides with a week in which Tehran has maintained rhetoric about possible escalation with the U.S. and Israel; a day earlier, the Assembly of Experts had called for a "firm response" to American threats (Assembly of Experts calls for "definite enforcement" of hijab and firm response to U.S. threats). The new minister's "4th war" remark comes a day after Trump said he was keeping the option of "bunker-buster" bombs against Iran's nuclear facilities on the table (Trump rejected nuclear weapons but kept "bunker-busters" on the table). According to Kayhan, Parliament Vice Speaker Hamid Reza Haji Babaei also said in the same session that the U.S. is "sinking deeper into the Persian Gulf quagmire every day"; this rhetoric shows that the defense ministry transition is being presented not merely as a bureaucratic appointment but as part of a war-readiness narrative. Ahlaki also entered the ministry's post-revolution roster of 15 names as the oldest person ever to take the post (related article).
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