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Top US diplomat for Middle East to retire, US officials say

The top US diplomat for the Middle East has told colleagues that he has decided to retire, three US officials said on Tuesday, the latest senior US.diplomat to leave the Trump administration.
Stuart Jones, acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, has extensive experience in the Middle East after serving as US ambassador to Iraq and Jordan and as deputy chief of mission in Cairo.
Jones, 57, told colleagues the decision was his own and that he had not been pushed out or asked to leave the department.
"This is his own decision ... There’s not been a falling out," said a US official who spoke on condition that he not be identified. "There's no story here, except another senior government official with real competence is leaving."