Beecroft nominated to be US Ambassador to Egypt

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The Obama administration plans to nominate its ambassador in Iraq to be the new U.S. envoy in Cairo, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, as U.S.-Egyptian ties remain strained following the Egyptian army’s ouster of an elected president last year.

According to a report reviewed by Iraqi News, Robert Stephen Beecroft, a longtime diplomat who has been U.S. ambassador in Baghdad since 2012, would replace Anne Patterson, who left the Cairo post last year and is now serving as a senior official on Middle East issues in Washington.

It is not clear when Beecroft would be formally nominated, the officials said on condition of anonymity. U.S. ambassador positions must be confirmed by the Senate.