Iran's parliament has confirmed a new defense minister, Mehrdad Akhlaghi Ketabchi, who has a professional background in defense technology and industrial organization.
What happened
Ketabchi's appointment comes after the previous defense minister, Aziz Nasirzadeh, was killed on the first day of the war. His confirmation by the country's parliament marks the first permanent appointee to the role since the war began.
Meanwhile, fighting between Houthi rebels and Saudi-aligned forces has continued, resulting in deaths and injuries in both Yemen and Saudi Arabia. A Houthi spokesman reported that Saudi warplanes carried out airstrikes in Yemen, killing or wounding over 30 people. In Saudi Arabia, six people were injured in a Houthi strike, and multiple missiles and drones targeting Riyadh were intercepted.
