Trump Weighs Next Iran Move as Qatar Mediates Nuclear Talks and Hegseth Fires Pentagon's Top Planner

President Donald Trump is deciding between renewed strikes on Iran and a negotiated nuclear deal, and he is not saying which way he leans.

"I would rather not destroy the rest of the country if possible, but maybe I'll have to," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, Nov. 5. "You'll know soon enough."

Diplomacy runs through Qatar

A U.S. official told the New York Post that Qatari officials are mediating new talks with Tehran on the fate of its nuclear program. The New York Times first reported that at least three meetings on "concrete proposals" took place in the past week, in Tehran and Doha.

Reuters reported later Thursday that Iran sent a copy of one nuclear proposal back to Washington through the Qatari mediators. The contents of the documents have not been made public, and neither government has said what Iran's response contains.

That is the diplomatic track. The military track is running alongside it.

The military track

On Thursday, Oct. 29, Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, briefed Trump at the White House on military options as Washington weighs resuming major combat operations, according to the Wall Street Journal. Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine joined him. Vice President JD Vance held a similar meeting the day before, following warnings to regional allies that U.S. strikes could resume after the midterms.

A blockade against Iran is ongoing. On Election Day, Nov. 3, U.S. forces carried out what the Pentagon calls "defensive" strikes on targets around Qeshm Island, near the Strait of Hormuz, according to Associated Press reporting that cited its source's description.

Retired Gen. Joseph Votel, who ran Central Command from 2016 to 2019 and is now a fellow at the Middle East Institute, told NPR the label is plausible. Qeshm is a known IRGC launch location, he said, and U.S. forces have an obligation to protect ships and troops under fire. He also named the risk: what one side calls defensive, the other may read as the start of a wider campaign.

Pentagon shake-up

Hegseth has removed Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia, the Joint Staff's director for strategy, plans and policy, known as J5. A spokesman for Gen. Caine confirmed Sylvia's ouster. The spokesman first thanked Sylvia for 32 years of service, then revised the statement, saying it "did not appropriately reflect the full circumstances" of his departure.

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell posted on X that after "an extensive Air Force OSI investigation, the Department took necessary personnel action to protect sensitive information." He added that "this matter, along with others, have been referred to the Justice Department for potential further legal action." An Air Force Office of Special Investigations spokesperson confirmed the office investigated allegations of unauthorized disclosure by Sylvia. A Justice Department spokesperson said only that the department "has ongoing investigations related to possible leaks of classified information."

A defense official told CNN Sylvia is under investigation for allegedly leaking classified information. No charges have been announced, and the Pentagon has offered no evidence of wrongdoing beyond Parnell's statement. CNN said it had reached out to Sylvia for comment. The Pentagon has not said who will take over the J5 job.

Who takes the blame

The war has run well past the roughly four weeks Trump initially told journalists to expect. Republicans took losses in Tuesday's midterms, and Vance has blamed the war for them. Polls show the public opposes the war, with voters tying it to higher costs.

Blame is now being sorted inside the administration, mostly through anonymous sources. One administration source told the Post that Trump has been asking allies what to do about Hegseth and has "gone negative" on him, saying Hegseth overpromised a quick victory. Hegseth advocated for the war and oversaw it.

Parnell said Wednesday that Hegseth intends to stay through the end of Trump's term. That rules out one off-ramp the Post floated: an appointment to the Senate seat being vacated by Tennessee Gov.-elect Marsha Blackburn. Democrats are demanding an end to the war, and the Post notes they have argued it is being conducted without congressional authorization.

Cooper is also a target. One source close to the White House called him "awful" and a "total neocon." A Pentagon source also criticized his approach: pointing to his earlier work running the "Joining Forces" military-family program under Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, that source said the war has been fought "like Obama would have prosecuted [it]," with "pinprick strikes." Both sources are anonymous, and neither the White House nor Cooper has responded on the record in the material at hand.

Cooper chose Thursday to launch a YouTube podcast, "Inside CENTCOM," in which he joked about French fries and said he would become "a professional free throw shooter" in retirement.

What is on the table

Other developments cut the other way on diplomacy. The Financial Times has reported that Russia agreed to supply Iran with 90 advanced missile launchers, and Iran International reports that hardliners in Tehran are warning against compromise since the U.S. election.

Tehran's answer is the open question. Iran has returned one proposal through Qatar, and the White House has not said whether it considers the reply a basis for talks or a rejection. Trump says the answer will come "soon enough."