# Iran's New Defense Chief Warns US of 'Enormous Damage' if Strikes Resume

> Days after parliament confirmed Mehrdad Akhlaghi as defense minister, he warned Washington that any renewed attack on Iran would bring serious consequences for the US and its allies in the region.

- Source: Israel Politics Post
- Canonical URL: https://israelpoliticspost.com/article/iran-defense-chief-warns-us-enormous-damage
- Author: Israel Politics Post Staff
- Section: Security & Diplomacy
- Published: 2026-10-18T14:20:52.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-18T14:20:52.000Z
- Tags: Iran, defense ministry, United States

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Iran's parliament voted Sunday to confirm Mehrdad Akhlaghi as the country's new defense minister, and he wasted little time issuing a warning to Washington, The Times of Israel reported. Lawmakers backed the appointment 237 votes in favor, after which Akhlaghi told reporters that any renewed US strikes on Iran would bring "enormous damage" down on Washington and its regional allies.

Akhlaghi steps into a post left vacant by the killing of Aziz Nasirzadeh in a joint US-Israeli strike on a leadership compound in late February, an operation that also killed Iran's former supreme leader and a number of senior commanders. His appointment comes roughly eight months into the conflict those strikes touched off.

He arrives without a military rank but with decades of institutional experience, having spent 42 years inside Iran's Defense Ministry and headed the Iranian Defense Industries Organization, the state's main weapons manufacturer, since 2013. The United Nations sanctioned him in 2007 over alleged ties to Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

"People can rest assured that they will most likely not dare to attack us," Akhlaghi said of a potential US strike, adding that if Washington did attack, "they themselves and the region will suffer enormous damage."

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