Photo: Getty Images
US President-elect Donald Trump has named Gen James Mattis, a former marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, as his defence secretary, the BBC reports.
“He’s our best,” Mr Trump said, as he announced his pick in a speech in Ohio.
Gen Mattis, who is known as “Mad Dog”, was an outspoken critic of the Obama administration’s Middle East policy, particularly on Iran.
He has referred to Iran as “the single most enduring threat to stability and peace in the Middle East”.
Mr Trump made the announcement in Cincinnati at the start of a “USA Thank You Tour 2016” for his supporters.
“We are going to appoint ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis as our secretary of defence,” he told the crowd.