Iran's parliament approved Mehrdad Akhlaqi as defence minister on Sunday, 237 of the 277 lawmakers who voted backing him, according to state media.
The session was held by video conference, according to Anadolu Agency, which cited state broadcaster IRIB. The vote was reported by Reuters from Dubai.
Mr Akhlaqi has spent decades in the defence industry, Reuters reported. He is subject to US and EU sanctions, the agency said.
The figure for votes against was not consistent across reports. Anadolu and the Minute Mirror website, both citing IRIB, said 15 lawmakers voted against and none abstained. Another outlet, citing the Straits Times, said 40 voted against. Neither figure matches the reported total of 277 votes cast.
President Masoud Pezeshkian addressed parliament virtually before the vote, according to the state-run ISNA news agency, as reported by Minute Mirror. ISNA said he urged lawmakers to back Mr Akhlaqi, saying he had support across the army, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Defence Ministry.
Reuters said Mr Akhlaqi pledged to rebuild military-industrial infrastructure, speed up the development of defence technology and expand cooperation with private firms.
Mr Akhlaqi also spoke about the United States. He told lawmakers: "If the American enemy makes another miscalculation, the response of the valiant Iranian people and the fighters of Islam will be surprising and extensive," according to Reuters.
Reuters also quoted him as saying the US president should focus on ensuring that American forces were withdrawn safely from the region.
Speaking to reporters about the US weapon known as the "mother of all bombs", Mr Akhlaqi said Iran had taken the necessary measures to counter such an action and was continuing its work with confidence, Anadolu reported.
Anadolu also reported that Mr Akhlaqi said he had been on an "assassination list" for 35 years. The claim has not been independently confirmed, and no response from the United States had been reported.
No US or Israeli reaction to Mr Akhlaqi's appointment or his remarks had been reported.
Mr Akhlaqi previously led the Aerospace Industries Organisation and the Shahid Bagheri Industrial Group, according to Minute Mirror. It said the group has links to Iran's ballistic missile programme.
Under Iran's system, the president nominates ministers and the Majlis, or Islamic Consultative Assembly, must give each a vote of confidence. The ministry's full title is the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics, and it runs defence production and procurement, Reuters said.
The post had been without a permanent holder since 28 February. On that day, Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh was killed in a US-Israeli strike on a leadership compound, according to ETV Bharat. Then Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior officials also died, it said.
The strike was on the first day of the war between Iran and the United States, according to ETV Bharat. Nearly eight months have passed since then.
Majid Ebn al-Reza ran the ministry in an acting capacity during that time, Reuters and Report.az reported.
State television said lawmakers "gave a vote of confidence" to Mr Akhlaqi, according to ETV Bharat. The report cited the government website for the vote figures.
Parliament has approved defence ministers in earlier years. In 2009 it approved Ahmad Vahidi, whom Argentina sought over the 1994 Buenos Aires bombing. Tehran denied any link.
In 2017 it approved Amir Hatami with 261 votes. The Associated Press described him as the first defence minister without Revolutionary Guard ties in about 25 years.
Reports did not say who nominated Mr Akhlaqi or when. They also did not say when he would formally start work in the post.
Photo: Fooroogh Taherkhani / Mehr News Agency / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
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