IRAN'S NEW DEFENSE MINISTER, DUBBED "MISSILE MAN" MEHRAD AKHLAGHI

TEHRAN, OCTOBER 19 /SRNA/ – Iran has appointed ballistic missile expert Mehrdad Akhlaghi, 68, as its new defense minister.

Iranian lawmakers approved his appointment by 237 votes to 15.

Britain's The Telegraph reports that Aklaghi is nicknamed the "Missile Man" and has been targeted by sanctions imposed by the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, Australia, Canada, France, Belgium and Switzerland in recent years over his leading role in developing Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal and his involvement in the nuclear program.

Aklaghi used his first public address to threaten the United States.

"We have made preparations and are continuing our work. US President Donald Trump should think about how he will withdraw his forces from the region in one piece. If he drops a single bomb, we will see how many of his soldiers he can evacuate lying horizontally," Aklaghi said.

He pledged to make surface-to-surface missiles and cruise missiles a top defense priority and said Iran's first domestically produced fighter jet would take to the skies next year.