Mike Bell, a retired Army colonel who served in the Iraq War, has been promoted to be President Trump's top Middle East adviser on the National Security Council, according to reports Tuesday.

Bell, who was the NSC director of Persian Gulf affairs, is replacing Derek Harvey.

National security adviser H.R. McMaster last week dismissed Harvey, an Iran hawk who was hired by Mike Flynn, McMaster's predecessor.

McMaster has removed several staffers hired by Flynn after Trump's first national security adviser resigned under pressure over his contacts with Russian officials.

Before joining the Trump administration, Bell was chancellor of the College of International Security Affairs at the National Defense University. During his Army career, Bell served in the Middle East, Europe, and on the Pentagon's Joint Staff. He is a 1983 graduate of West Point.