Iran says indirect talks with U.S. on ceasefire proposal continue– www.cbsnews.com
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EXCERPT:
A missile industry veteran has been tapped as Iran’s new defense minister, replacing the previous minister who was killed on Feb. 28, the first day of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.
Iranian parliamentarians overwhelmingly approved the appointment of Mehrdad Akhlaghi Ketabchi, 68, as the country’s new defense chief on Sunday.
Akhlaghi studied chemical engineering at Amirkabir University of Technology and then spent more than four decades working in Iran’s military industries, holding senior positions in the Shahid Bagheri Industrial Group, the Aerospace Industries Organization – which has worked on missile development in cooperation with Russia, China and North Korea – and the Defense Industries Organization.
He worked with Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam, a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander widely regarded as the father of Iran’s missile industry.
Akhlaghi has been under international sanctions since 2007 because of his involvement in Iran’s missile programs.