Iran's parliament approves Mehrdad Akhlaqi as minister of defence

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The Straits Times. (2026, October 18). Iran's parliament approves Mehrdad Akhlaqi as minister of defence. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/world/middle-east/irans-parliament-approves-mehrdad-akhlaqi-as-minister-of-defence

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The Straits Times · collected 2026-10-18 · by The Straits Times

Quick Summary

Iran's parliament appointed Mehrdad Akhlaqi as minister of defence on October 18, following an interim period led by Majid Ebn al-Reza after Aziz Nasirzadeh’s death in February. Akhlaqi, who has extensive experience in Iran's defense industry, pledged to strengthen military-industrial capabilities and enhance cooperation with private companies. He also warned against potential US aggression, threatening severe retaliation if the United States uses its most powerful non-nuclear bomb in the region.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-18, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

On October 18, 2026, Iran's parliament approved Mehrdad Akhlaqi as the new minister of defence, replacing interim leader Majid Ebn al-Reza after Aziz Nasirzadeh was killed by US-Israeli strikes in February. Akhlaqi, a long-time figure in Iran's defence industry, has held senior roles in aerospace and missile sectors but faces sanctions from both the US and EU for his work in Iran's defence sector. During his presentation to lawmakers, he vowed to rebuild military-industrial infrastructure and accelerate development of defence technologies while warning against American aggression, asserting that Tehran would respond with "surprising and extensive" measures if attacked again.

Written for “Iran Approves New Defence Minister” on 2026-10-18, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.45, but none of the 2 quote(s) it offered could be found in the article text, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 88409: no verified evidence · logged 2026-10-18

Story

📰 Iran Approves New Defence Minister
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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Claims extracted
9
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
11%
1 of 9 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
60/100
The Straits Times's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-18 · how these are computed

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Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Straits Times · 3003 article(s) · 3 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 3 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

The Straits Times
1975 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 "If the American enemy makes another miscalculation, the response of the valiant Iranian people and the fighters of Islam will be surprising and extensive," he said, adding that Tehran had taken necessary measures to counter the potential use by the US of its "mother of all bombs" against Iran.
2026-10-18 · assertive framing · Iran's parliament approves Mehrdad Akhlaqi as minister of defence
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 1975 articles by The Straits Times →

Topics

American DUBAI Defence Iran Iranian

Subjects

Iran GPE · 5× Akhlaqi PERSON · 4× Iranian NORP · 2× American NORP · 1× Aziz Nasirzadeh PERSON · 1× DUBAI GPE · 1× Defence ORG · 1× Majid Ebn al-Reza PERSON · 1× Mehrdad Akhlaqi PERSON · 1× Mehrdad Akhlaqi Ketabchi PERSON · 1×

Narrative

"If the American enemy makes another miscalculation, the response of the valiant Iranian people and the fighters of Islam will be surprising and extensive," he said, adding that Tehran had taken necessary measures to counter the potential use by the US of its "mother of all bombs" against Iran.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-18
🔮 "If the American enemy makes another miscalculation, the response of the valiant Iranian people and the fighters of Islam will be surprising and extensive," he said, adding that Tehran had taken necessary measures to counter the potential use by the US of its "mother of all bombs" against Iran.
2026-10-18 · The Straits Times
Iran's parliament approves Mehrdad Akhlaqi as minister of defence · assertive framing

Claims (9 extracted, 1 hedged)

Iran's parliament approves Mehrdad Akhlaqi as minister of defence DUBAI, Oct 18 - asserted
parliament → approve → defence
Iran's parliament approved Mehrdad Akhlaqi Ketabchi as defence minister on Sunday, ending months of interim leadership at the ministry and placing a former defence sector veteran in charge of the country's defence production and procurement apparatus. asserted
parliament → approve → apparatus
Akhlaqi replaces Majid Ebn al-Reza, who took over in an interim capacity after then Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh was killed by US-Israeli strikes in February. asserted
Nasirzadeh → replace → February
Akhlaqi has spent decades in Iran's defence industry and has held senior roles in its aerospace and missile sectors. asserted
Akhlaqi → spend → sectors
In a programme presented to lawmakers, Akhlaqi pledged to rebuild the country's military-industrial infrastructure, accelerate the development of defence technologies and expand cooperation with private-sector companies. asserted
Akhlaqi → present → companies
"If the American enemy makes another miscalculation, the response of the valiant Iranian people and the fighters of Islam will be surprising and extensive," he said, adding that Tehran had taken necessary measures to counter the potential use by the US of its "mother of all bombs" against Iran. asserted
Tehran → make → Iran
CNN reported this week that the US has developed strike plans that could include using the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb, also known as the "mother of all bombs", against Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear sites if President Donald Trump orders renewed combat operations. uncertain
Trump → report → operations
"The US President should focus on ensuring his forces are withdrawn safely from our region. asserted
forces → focus → region
If he drops a single bomb, he will have to see how many of his troops end up being carried out of the region in a horizontal position," Akhlaqi said. asserted
Akhlaqi → drop → position
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