Mehrdad Akhlaghi’s Plans for the Ministry of Defense: From Strengthening Air Defense to Updating Equipment

The proposed Minister of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, outlining his plans in parliament, announced the strengthening of air defense, updating of defense equipment, development of emerging technologies, increased domestic production capacity, and housing construction for armed forces personnel.

The proposed minister of defense and support of the armed forces, while explaining his plans in the parliament, announced the strengthening of air defense, updating of defense equipment, development of emerging technologies, increase of domestic production capacity and construction of housing for the employees of the armed forces.

Ambassador of Arjan-Political Group: Mehrdad Ehalli, the proposed option of the Ministry of Defense and Support of the Armed Forces, explained the main axes of his proposed program on Monday, October 20, during the review meeting of his plans in the Islamic Council. He listed strengthening air defense, rebuilding industrial infrastructure, updating military equipment and paying attention to the livelihood of armed forces employees as his priorities for the administration of this ministry.

Referring to his consultations with the military commanders in the past weeks, Ekhli said that after reviewing the expectations and missions raised, he has come to the conclusion that it is possible to pursue these plans in the Ministry of Defense. He emphasized that the realization of goals requires the management of an expert, revolutionary and jihadist group.

Emphasizing the necessity of strengthening the country's defense capability, the proposed minister of defense said: "We are seriously pursuing the issue of strengthening air defense" and added that this issue will be pursued through the General Staff of the Armed Forces and following up on the allocation of budgets.

Ekhli also announced the plan to rebuild production and industrial infrastructures in compliance with the requirements of passive defense. According to him, the development of emerging technologies and the creation of leap innovation in defense systems are among the desired goals during the remaining period of the government.

Pointing to the necessity of monitoring the threats, he said that developments and methods used by the enemy are continuously reviewed and the equipment of the armed forces will be updated according to the changes in the threats and tools used.

Ekhli also emphasized on the use of the capacity of universities and knowledge-based companies in the field of research and innovation and said that the goal is to increase the defense and resilience of the country against threats.

Referring to the long history of sanctions against Iran, the proposed defense minister stated that these restrictions have not prevented the production of missile equipment and support. He emphasized that the supply of equipment needed by the armed forces to deal with threats will continue with different methods and measures.

Ethaki considered paying attention to the livelihood, housing and treatment of the employees and retirees of the armed forces as one of the important axes of his program and emphasized that this issue is equal in importance to other priorities of the Ministry of Defense.

Referring to this year's program of the armed forces to hand over 100,000 residential units, he said that the pursuit of housing for the employees of the armed forces will be one of his work priorities if he assumes the position of the Ministry of Defense.

The proposed Minister of Defense also spoke about the program to increase productivity, monitor more seriously the performance of managers and strengthen the economic health of the ministry. According to him, using the capacity of the lands and properties of the armed forces and the production of these assets can also play a role in advancing the goals of the ministry.

In another part of his speech, Ekhli emphasized the development of diplomacy and international defense law by interacting with the General Staff of the Armed Forces and listed targeted interaction with the parliament and greater participation of the private sector in the defense industry among his other plans.

In the end, pointing to the need to strengthen domestic production capacity, he said that the participation of the private sector in the defense industry has been of interest since the past, but considering today's conditions, it has become more important. The announced plans of this proposed option will be evaluated in the framework of the examination of the qualifications and votes of the members of parliament for the tenure of the Ministry of Defense.

In a message on the occasion of August 31, Defense Industry Day, Guards Major General Seyed Yahya Safavi, assistant and senior advisor to the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, emphasized the timely and high-quality supply of equipment for the armed forces and said that Iran's response to any threat should be preemptive, authoritative and calculated.

The introduction of Mehrdad Akhlik for the Ministry of Defense has been widely reflected by Persian-language media outside the country and the region, as he is from the managerial generation formed during the eight-year term of the ministry of Shahid Ali Shamkhani. The period in which the structure of the aerospace industry and an important part of the development path of Iran's missile power was formed.

The member of the presidium of the parliament announced the holding of electronic and in-person voting about the proposed minister of defense and support of the armed forces using voting cards.