Donald Trump's abrupt firing of Pentagon Secretary Mark Esper has sparked fears that he could be about to launch military operations against Iran.

Officials at the Defense Department have said privately that Trump could be clearing the way for overt or covert operations against America's foreign adversaries, with Iran at the top of the list.

Esper, who was fired by tweet on Monday, had previously contradicted Trump over Iran and the drone strike that killed top general Quassem Soliemani - rowing back some of the President's statements.

The officials spoke out amid general speculation about how Trump will use his final days in office, even as he refuses to concede the election to Joe Biden - insisting that he won while making baseless accusations of fraud.

According to the New York Times: 'Defense Department officials have privately expressed worries that the president might initiate operations, whether overt or secret, against Iran or other adversaries during his last days in office.'

Elissa Slotkin, a former Obama-era official at the Defense Department and now a Democrat representative for Michigan, added: 'There would only be a few reasons to fire a secretary of defense with 72 days left in an administration.

'One would be incompetence or wrongdoing, which do not seem to be the issue with Secretary Esper.

'A second would be vindictiveness, which would be an irresponsible way to treat our national security.

'A third would be because the president wants to take actions that he believes his secretary of defense would refuse to take, which would be alarming.'

Trump announced that Christopher Miller, respected director of the National Counterterrorism Center, will be Esper's replacement.

Officials say Miller was a driving force in some of Trump's anti-Iran and anti-Hezbollah policies, as well as counterterrorism efforts in Syria and Iraq.

Esper is thought to have been at the top of a list of officials Trump was looking to fire, after he contradicted the President several times in public.

Most-recently, Esper had opposed deploying troops on the streets to deal with a wave of protests sparked by the death of George Floyd.

Following Esper's departure, FBI Director Christopher Wray is now thought to be at the top of the list.

Miller is Trump's fifth Pentagon chief during his four years in the White House.

He had had been confirmed by the Senate as the director of the National Counterterrorism Center.

Miller also performs the duties of assistant secretary of defense, overseeing the employment of special operations forces in counterterrorism. He is a retired U.S. Army officer - and former Green Beret - who served in Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003. He was also in the District of Columbia National Guard as a Military Policeman.

His tenure will be short. President-elect Joe Biden will be inaugurated on January 20th, 2021, and will appoint his own Pentagon chief.

Esper, in an interview with the Military Times last week, pushed back on his nickname 'yesper' given to him by his critics, including President Trump.

'My frustration is I sit here and say, 'Hm, 18 Cabinet members. Who's pushed back more than anybody?' Name another Cabinet secretary that's pushed back,' he said. 'Have you seen me on a stage saying, 'Under the exceptional leadership of blah-blah-blah, we have blah-blah-blah-blah?''

He told the news outlet, which is widely read by members of the service, he has no regrets about how he handled himself.

'At the end of the day, it's as I said — you've got to pick your fights,' he said. 'I could have a fight over anything, and I could make it a big fight, and I could live with that —why? Who's going to come in behind me? It's going to be a real 'yes man.' And then God help us.'

Further reading: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ials-fear.html