In response to a resurgence of U.S. and other Middle East allies’ military attacks against Iran, Defence Minister Mehrdad Akhlaghi has threatened to cause “enormous damage” to the U.S. and other Middle East nations.
Akhlaghi spoke on Sunday soon after the parliament gave him the approval for the Defence Minister position. In an interview with the reporters, he stated that he expects Iran to be able to stop any further attack and cautioned that if Iran’s enemy decided to attack it again, it will have consequences for the United States and the entire region.
“But people can feel confident that they do not dare attack us,” said Akhlaghi. Should the U.S. attack again, “they will cause incredible damage to themselves and the region,” he added.
State television reports Iranian lawmakers voted to nominate Akhlaghi as Minister of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics. He won 237 votes in favour of himself from 277 during the vote in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the government website admitted.
With his predecessor Aziz Nasirzadeh, who was said to have been killed in a February 28 US-Israeli attack on a leadership compound, would vying for the post, Akhlaghi inherits his bloc’s defence portfolio. It is also believed that the attack killed former top leader of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several senior military commanders, according to the report supplied.
His elevation to office happens almost eight months since the first joint U.S.-Israeli air attacks which sparked the conflict, while tension over the prospect of further military action is mounting.
The new defense minister’s threats underscore Tehran’s declaration that a next strike would be met with a “consequent response. He also cautioned of an escalation of the situation in the region if the fighting were to return to the streets.
The United States hasn’t commented on Akhlaghi’s most recent remark, according to the report it provided. It is not yet clear what a renewed military campaign would look like or when this might happen.