The Iranian regime on Friday mocked the United States administration led by Donald Trump after the US Army Chief of Staff, Gen Randy George, was reportedly fired on Thursday by US War Secretary Pete Hegseth in the middle of the ongoing war in West Asia.
The Pentagon confirmed that George, who had more than a year left in his term, “will be retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately”.
General David Hodne, who leads the American army’s Transformation and Training Command, and Major General William Green, head of the the Chaplain Corps, have also been fired by former news anchor Pete Hegseth, whose designation earlier was Defense Secretary before the department was renamed by Trump.
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Iran’s South African embassy posted images of a recent meeting of the US miliary top brass and crossed out some of them, though not exactly aligning with the sackings reported so far.
The caption read, “The regime change happened successfully,” along with a mention of “MAGA”, Trump’s slogan Make America Great Again, and a laughing emoji.
This is only the latest in digs being taken regularly by Iranian official handles on social media.
Hegseth’s many sackings
Gen Randy George’s removal adds to recent upheaval at all levels of leadership at the Pentagon, including the firing last year of the previous chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General CQ Brown; as well as the chief of naval operations and air force vice-chief.
The Department of War did not give a reason for George’s departure as army chief. The army is the largest branch of the US military, with about 450,000 active-duty soldiers. However, the US strikes in the Middle East/West Asia region are largely being carried out by the navy and air force. Army soldiers have been dispatched for air defence systems. Thousands of soldiers from the US Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division have also started arriving in the region, potentially for ground operations in Iran.
Several analysts on US TV news and online said Gen Randy George may have been sacked for being opposed to a ground invasion. He has not yet spoken.
In a statement, the Pentagon’s Joint Staff thanked George for his service: “Since 1988, General George and his family have consistently answered the nation’s call with honor and dedication.”
There had been no public signs of friction between Hegseth and George, even as Hegseth pursued controversial moves such as firing the army’s top lawyer and arranging a massive military parade to celebrate the army’s 250th birthday, which coincided with Trump’s birthday.
Earlier this week, Hegseth also reversed an army decision to investigate pilots who were flying attack helicopters near singer Kid Rock’s house, in an apparent show of support for the vocal Trump backer.
One of the officials said Hegseth’s former military aide and army vice-chief, General Christopher LaNeve, will take over George’s role in an acting capacity. Another of the officials added that senior Army leadership learned about George’s firing at the same time as it was made public, news agency Reuters reported.
Gen George, an infantry officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, was confirmed to the top army post in 2023. Terms in that role usually run for four years.
Prior to holding the top job, George was the vice-chief of the army.
Trump’s war within
Further, since the US-Israel attack on Iran started on February 28, some of Trump’s closest aides and cabinet members too have been sacked.
The first was homeland security secretary Kristi Noem, known for her hardline immigration policies and deploying armed agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in cities. She was nicknamed ‘Ice Barbie’. She was removed from the position after some fatal shootings of US citizens by ICE agents, and the alleged mishandling of floods and a hurricane. There was also a scandal around a $220-million advertising contract awarded to her close associates without Trump’s approval.
Sacked on March 5, 2026, she may not be completely out of favour though, and may soon get a different assignment.
The latest to be sacked among loyalists was Pam Bondi as the US attorney general. “We love Pam, and she will be transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector, to be announced at a date in the near future, and our Deputy Attorney General, and a very talented and respected Legal Mind, Todd Blanche, will step in to serve as Acting Attorney General,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Pam Bindi had tumultuous tenure as the nation’s top law enforcement official. Viewed as one of Trump’s closest allies, she cracked down on illegal immigration and violent crime, and launched investigations into Trump’s political enemies.
However, reports over the past few weeks said Trump grew impatient with her over her handling of files related to cases involving the late, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, in which Trump is named too.
Bondi had not yet commented on her removal.
(Inputs by Reuters, Bloomberg)
