Mehrdad Akhlaghi (Iran’s Defence Minister) Age, Biography

Some Lesser Known Facts About Mehrdad Akhlaghi

• Mehrdad Akhlaghi was born and raised in Rasht, Iran.

• He studied chemical engineering at Amirkabir University of Technology in Iran. Later, he earned a master’s degree in strategic management from Malek-Ashtar University of Technology, a university linked to Iran’s Defence Ministry.

• In 1980s, Mehrdad began working in Iran’s defence industry. He spent more than four decades working on missile development, aerospace technology, and military manufacturing.

• During his early military career, he worked on Iran’s ballistic missile program and solid-fuel propulsion technology.

• He gained experience in space-launch technology and worked with Iran’s Imam Khomeini Space Center.

• Akhlaghi helped improve Iran’s Sejjil and Zolfaghar missile families, as well as the Almas missile and Yasin guided bomb.

• Before 2007, he had close ties with Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam, founder of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ missile program.

• In 2007, he led the Shahid Bagheri Industrial Group, an organization linked to Iran’s ballistic missile program. This role placed him within an important part of the country’s missile-development industry.

• In 2007, the United Nations imposed sanctions on Akhlaghi under Resolution 1737 because of his links to Iran’s missile program.

• In 2008, the United States imposed sanctions on Akhlaghi over his links to Iran’s missile program.

• In 2013, Akhlaghi served as director of Iran’s Defence Industries Organization (DIO), an organization oversees companies that manufacture military equipment and supplies for Iran’s armed forces.

• In 2014, Iran’s then defence minister, Hossein Dehghar, appointed him as the managing director of the Aerospace Industries Organization (AIO), an organization oversees important parts of Iran’s aerospace and missile-production activities.

• In 2020, the US government imposed additional sanctions on Akhlaghi under an executive order targeting Iran-related conventional arms activities. In the same year the European Union and the United Kingdom have also imposed sanctions on him.

• In October 2023, the United Nations lifted the sanctions listed against him after the relevant restrictions expired. However, in September 2025, the UN reinstated the sanctions against him as apart of its renewed sanctions on Iran.

• On 28 February 2026, Iran’s defence minister, Aziz Nasirzadeh died in US-Israeli strikes. Mjid Ebn al-Reza took over as acting defense minister while Iran looked for a permanent replacement.

• On 5 October 2026, President Masoud Pezeshkian nominated Mehrdad Akhlaghi as defence minister. His experience in missile development and military manufacturing made him a key figure in Iran’s defence sector.

• On 18 October 2026, Iran’s parliament approved his appointment as defence minister by holding a remote session to vote on Akhlaghi’s appointment.

• In the session he represented a plan to rebuild military facilities damaged during the war, speed up weapons production, and strengthen cooperations with private companies.

• Out of 285 lawmakers, 237 voted in favour of his appointment, while 15 voted against it. Another 25 could nit vote because they lacked internet access, and eight were absent.

• Parliament also appointed Majid Ebn al-Reza as Mehrdad Akhlaghi’s deputy.

• On the day of his appointment, Mehrdad Akhlaghi warned the United States that Iran would cause damage to United States and its allies if they attacked again. He also called for stronger domestic military production and better defence technology.