Hegseth Ousts Top Pentagon Planner As Vance Reaches Out To Iran For Peace Talks

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has removed Army Lieutenant General Brett Sylvia, the Pentagon's top military planner, as President Donald Trump weighs fresh strikes against Iran. The move comes amid rising tensions, with Iran claiming it shot down a US drone near the Strait of Hormuz, South Korea considering a possible deployment to protect shipping, and Vice President JD Vance reportedly seeking renewed peace talks with Tehran.

According to The New York Times, Vance has written to Iran's top security official, Mohsen Rezaei, proposing negotiations that could begin next week in Qatar or Turkey if Tehran accepts. Trump reportedly approved the letter before it was sent. The proposal calls for Iran's nuclear programme to be discussed from the start, although talks could begin without formal preconditions.

Iran has not confirmed whether it will accept it. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran remained in contact with intermediaries and was giving diplomacy a chance. He referred to a seven-day plan that emerged from US-Iran discussions on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly last month. Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar have also held talks with Iranian leaders to ease tensions.

Meanwhile, Trump has threatened renewed military action, and reports say the US and Israel are preparing options for a possible intense aerial campaign after the November 3 US midterm elections.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed on Thursday that it had intercepted and destroyed an American-made MQ-1 drone east of the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of Sirik. Iranian news agency ISNA reported the claim, with the IRGC describing it as the 14th MQ-1 drone destroyed by its air defence system. Iran did not identify the drone's operator, and the claim has not been independently verified.

Sylvia led the Joint Staff's Strategy, Plans and Policy directorate, known as the J5, which develops military strategies, contingency plans and operational options for senior leaders, including Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine. Sylvia is the second lieutenant general to leave the J5 in about a year. His predecessor, Lieutenant General Joseph McGee, was forced to retire in October 2025.

The dismissal adds to a wider shake-up in which nearly two dozen senior officers have reportedly been dismissed or pushed into early retirement. Hegseth says the changes will reduce bureaucracy and improve accountability. The Pentagon aims to cut general officer positions by 20 per cent by January 1, 2027. Democratic Senator Mark Kelly, a former Navy combat pilot and astronaut, warned that removing experienced leaders could have lasting consequences for the military.