Anthony Zinni, a retired Marine Corps general and former head of US Central Command who has been working as State Department envoy for the Trump administration to resolve a feud between Qatar and its neighbors, has resigned from his post.

 

Zinni said he resigned after coming to the conclusion that he could not solve the Gulf dispute because of an inability to agree on what the mediation effort should be.

 

Zinni was a Marine general who once commanded US forces in the Middle East. After the military he served as special envoy to Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

 

On June 5, 2017, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut ties with key US ally Qatar, accusing it of backing extremism and building ties with Iran.