Trump wants to launch another war before leaving office
US President Donald Trump has said he would consider launching a military campaign against Cuba before the end of his term, raising the prospect of another US military intervention as Washington steps back from diplomatic efforts to resolve its war with Iran, The Independent reports.
In an interview with The Hugh Hewitt Show, Trump said he wanted to “get Cuba done” before leaving office and suggested that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whose parents are Cuban immigrants, would welcome such an operation.
“Well, I want to get Cuba done before I leave, yeah,” Trump said when asked whether he would use military force to bring about change in Cuba.
Asked specifically whether he would consider a week-long military campaign, Trump replied, “I would be, I would certainly consider that, yes.”
Trump described Cuba as a “failed” nation and said he was closely monitoring the situation. He also cited his electoral support among Cuban Americans in Florida, claiming he had won 94% of their votes.
“I'd love to be able to do it for the people, for the Cubans that came and were treated really badly, and they came to America,” he said.
Trump abandons Iran negotiations
Trump's remarks on Cuba came as his administration appeared to abandon diplomatic efforts to resolve the ongoing war with Iran, which began on February 28 with US and Israeli strikes.
In a series of posts on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said he had instructed Vice President JD Vance to stop pursuing negotiations with Tehran and instead focus on investigating alleged electoral fraud in Democratic-led states and cities.
“We don't need a deal with Iran,” Trump wrote, adding that the United States had already secured significant financial leverage and control over the Strait of Hormuz.
The announcement marked a sharp departure from Vance's months-long efforts to lead US negotiating teams in pursuit of a ceasefire and the resumption of nuclear talks. Just days earlier, the vice president had been considering direct discussions with senior Iranian security official Mohsen Rezaei, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Oil prices rose and stock markets fell following Trump's announcement, reflecting renewed uncertainty over the conflict, Axios reported.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio had told G7 counterparts in Paris on Tuesday that Trump was no longer considering either major military strikes or a diplomatic settlement with Iran, instead opting to isolate the Iranian government.
Washington has also rejected an Iranian ceasefire proposal, with Rubio describing it as “outrageous and ridiculous and really not realistic”.
Although Trump said on Monday that the war was “effectively over” and that he would hold off on threatened strikes at the request of Gulf allies, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia, his administration intends to maintain its naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, low-level hostilities have continued. Iranian state media reported US strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island earlier this week, following Iranian attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf.
Iran war blamed for Republican election losses
The economic consequences of the war, particularly rising fuel prices, were widely viewed as a major factor behind the Republican Party's recent midterm election losses, which cost the party control of Congress.
Vance had publicly acknowledged the political damage caused by the conflict, directly linking the Republican defeat to the war in a post on X last week.
“The reason we lost is the war,” Vance wrote, arguing that those defending the military campaign should acknowledge the political cost of losing control of the Senate.
Trump, however, has continued to defend the war, insisting that he would not have handled the conflict differently.
Despite the political and economic fallout, his latest comments suggest that military intervention in Cuba remains under consideration as another potential foreign policy priority before he leaves office.