Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday appointed Majid Ebn al-Reza, who had served as acting defense minister since around the start of the conflict with the United States, as his defense adviser.

"The Iranian president has issued a decree appointing Majid Ebn al-Reza as his adviser on defense issues," the presidency said.

On Monday, Pezeshkian officially named Mehrdad Akhlaghi as the new defense minister, nearly eight months after his predecessor, Aziz Nasirzadeh, was killed in an airstrike at the onset of the US-Israeli war on Iran. During this time, Majid Ebn al-Reza served as acting defense minister.

On February 28, the US and Israel began striking targets in Iran, prompting retaliation from Iran. In mid-June, Tehran and Washington signed a memorandum aimed at a cessation of hostilities, but shortly afterward, they exchanged strikes again. At present, the conflict remains unresolved.

On the very first day of the attack, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed. The conflict also claimed lives of Iran's top military and political leadership, including Chief of the General Staff of the Iranian armed forces Abdolrahim Mousavi, Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Mohammad Pakpour, Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, Secretary of the Defense Council Ali Shamkhani and Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani.

@Sputnik