OMM Newsroom
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Sunday that he hoped his US-sanctioned nominee for defense minister, Mehrdad Akhlaqi Ketabchi, could “survive,” claiming the official was also on a US “assassination list,” Anadolu Agency reported.
Pezeshkian made the remarks in a virtual address to parliament during a session on Ketabchi’s nomination, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency.
The president said Ketabchi was under US sanctions and urged him to “take care of himself.” He said he hoped the nominee, with support from the country’s institutions, would “remain alive” and continue working to strengthen Iran’s defense capabilities.
Pezeshkian called on lawmakers to give Ketabchi a strong vote of confidence, saying he had support across Iran’s armed forces, including the army, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the defense ministry and security institutions.
Ketabchi, a longtime senior defense ministry official, previously headed Iran’s Aerospace Industries Organization and the Shahid Bagheri Industrial Group (SBIG), which has been linked to the country’s ballistic missile program. He has been subject to US sanctions over his involvement in Iran’s missile-related activities.
He was nominated to replace former Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, who was killed during US-Israeli attacks on Iran earlier this year.
Pezeshkian said Iran did not seek to attack other countries but would respond strongly to any attack on its territory.
“Our defense is not only missiles; our defense is the people and the unity and cohesion we have in the country,” he said.
He added that Tehran would not back down in the face of what he described as pressure and “bullying” by countries that attack Iran.
