Derek Harvey, a top advisor to US President Donald Trump on the Middle East and Iran, has been fired by National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster, according to media reports on Thursday.
Harvey’s dismissal was related to tensions with Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson over how to deal with Iran, as opposed to “internecine staff fighting”, the Weekly Standard reported as cited by Sputnik.
“Mattis, in particular, had disagreements with Harvey and that he raised the issue with National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster,” the report stated, based on two sources. “McMaster met with Harvey this morning to deliver the news.”
Harvey was a strong, behind-the-scenes advocate of Trump’s decision to strike Syria in April in response to the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian Army against a rebel-held region and he was driving a more aggressive approach against Iran, according to the report.
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