Iran appoints acting defense minister after top officials' deaths

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has appointed Majid ibn al-Rza as the acting defense minister of the country.

According to Operative Information Center-OMM, the appointment was reported by Iranian media outlets following an official decree by the presidency.

The appointment comes after the Iranian MFA confirmed the death of the previous defense minister, Lieutenant General Aziz Nasirzadeh. In addition to the defense minister, several other high-ranking military officials were reported killed, including Lieutenant General Mohammad Pakpur, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Ground Forces, Lieutenant General Abdolrahim Mousavi, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, and Admiral Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of the Defense Council.

This sudden shift in Iran's military leadership occurs during a period of heightened regional tensions. The Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics in Iran is responsible for the country's military industry and procurement, playing a critical role in national security. The appointment of an acting minister is intended to ensure administrative continuity within the defense establishment as the government navigates the loss of its top-tier military command structure.