New Delhi, April 3 -- US Army Chief of Staff Randy George was on Thursday fired by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who ordered the general's immediate retirement, as the war with Iran dragged into the fifth week.

"General Randy A. George will be retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately. The Department of War is grateful for General George's decades of service to our nation. We wish him well in his retirement," the Department of War said in a statement, without providing reasons for the general's departure.

Reuters reported that there had been no prior signs of friction between George and Hegseth, despite the latter's rather unorthodox moves such as firing the Army's top lawyer and arranging ...