Trump weighs new Iran strikes as Hegseth fires Pentagon’s top military planner

This morning, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired another top general at the Pentagon, just as President Trump is weighing new military strikes against Iran after next week's midterms. Lieutenant General Brett Sylvia was abruptly removed from his post earlier this week. He led the Joint Staff Strategy and Planning Office, known as J5, which helps develop military plans and advise the chairmen of the Joint Chiefs. No public explanation for his firing and no replacement has been named. He's the second General Hegseth has removed from that same job in just over a year, part of a much broader shakeup of the military's top ranks. And his departure comes at a particularly sensitive time. The Associated Press reports U.S. officials have warned several Middle Eastern countries to prepare for possible new American strikes against Iran after Tuesday's elections and potential Iranian retaliation. But there's also a new diplomatic effort underway. The The Wall Street Journal reports Vice President J.D. Vance sent a letter to Iran's top national security official trying to restart negotiations. Trump says he didn't direct Vance to open peace talks, but did give him the OK to reach out. He described the contact as an effort to get medical supplies to Iranians. No, what that is, is they need help with medical supplies and various things. He asked me what I thought. I said, if you want to do that, that's OK. Basically it's getting supplies in to help people that are not well. The Journal reports the outreach hasn't produced a specific peace proposal. So far, the discussions have focused on whether the two sides can even get negotiations started again.