The US senate has voted to confirm that General David Petraeus, the senior US general in Iraq, will soon oversee all US military operations in the Middle East.

Petraeus, who engineered a recent troop "surge" strategy in Iraq, will be promoted to run the US Central Command (Centcom) after a 95-2 vote in the 100-member chamber on Thursday.

The senate voted 96-1 to confirm Lieutenant-General Raymond Odierno as Petraeus’s replacement in Iraq.

Petraeus will now take charge of US operations in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as direct strategy on Iran and a surge in al-Qaeda-linked activity in Pakistan.

He replaces Admiral William Fallon, who resigned in March after saying that media reports describing him as at odds with the White House over how to deal with Iran had become "a distraction".

Before he leaves his current post, Petraeus will make a recommendation in mid-September on whether a recent reduction of US forces can continue after the last brigade of "surge" troops leaves Iraq in July.

In March, Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, said the long lead time into Petraeus's new role at Centcom and Odierno's takeover of the Iraq job were intended to avoid disrupting the "surge" strategy.