BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 2. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has appointed General Seyed Majid Ibn Al-Reza as the new head of the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, Trend reports.
Seyed Mohammad Mehdi Tabatabai, Deputy Director of Communications and Information Services at the Iranian Presidential Office, announced the news via his official X page.
It was noted that General Seyed Mohammad Ibn Al-Reza had previously been serving as acting defense minister.
The escalation follows the 3rd round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States in Geneva on February 26. Held under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, the negotiations were viewed as the final chance to strike a deal diplomatically. However, no agreements were reached, as Tehran refused to halt uranium enrichment, dismantle its nuclear facilities, or accept indefinite restrictions on its nuclear program. Israel launched its airstrikes shortly afterward, with the country's Defense Minister Katz emphasizing that the operations were preemptive.
In a significant escalation, military airstrikes conducted by Israel and the United States the previous day have reportedly resulted in the deaths of Iran’s Supreme Leader Seyyed Ali Khamenei and several members of his family.
Additionally, several of Iran’s most senior military and security officials were killed in the airstrikes, including Chief of Staff Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander-in-Chief Mohammad Pakpour, Supreme Leader adviser and Defense Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani, and Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh.
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