US President Donald Trump told CNN on Friday morning (Saturday morning AEDT) that Cuba “is going to fall pretty soon”.
“Cuba is gonna fall pretty soon, by the way, unrelated, but Cuba is gonna fall too. They want to make a deal so badly,” he told CNN’s Dana Bash in a phone interview when touting US military success in his second term.
“They want to make a deal, and so I’m going to put Marco [Rubio] over there and we’ll see how that works out. We’re really focused on this one right now. We’ve got plenty of time, but Cuba’s ready — after 50 years,” he added, explaining that Iran is the current priority.
He added of Cuba: “I’ve been watching it for 50 years, and it’s fallen right into my lap because of me, it’s fallen, but it’s nevertheless fallen right into the lap. And we’re doing very well.”
A day earlier, Trump said at the White House that it’s only a “question of time” before American Cubans can return to their home country, appearing to say that’s next on the administration’s agenda after the on-going war with Iran.
“He’s doing some job, and your next one is going to be, we want to do that special Cuba,” Trump said on Thursday referring to his Secretary of State.
“He’s waiting. But he says, ‘Let’s get this one finished first.’ We could do them all at the same time, but bad things happen. If you watch countries over the years, you do them all too fast, bad things happen. We’re not going to let anything bad happen to this country.”
Meanwhile, Intense Israeli airstrikes pounded the capitals of Iran and Lebanon on Friday as the IDF reportedly heavily bombed an extensive underground bunker that Iran’s leaders had planned to use during the hostilities.
Israeli warplanes bombed Beirut and Tehran as Iran launched more retaliatory strikes against Israel and Gulf countries on the seventh day of the war.
The strikes in Lebanon were the heaviest since a 2024 ceasefire ended the last war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah, who fired rockets at Israel in the opening days of the war now underway.
More than 95,000 people have fled Beirut’s suburbs and southern Lebanon after sweeping Israeli evacuation warnings.
The US and Israel have battered Iran with strikes, targeting its military capabilities, leadership and nuclear program.
The stated goals and timelines for the war have repeatedly shifted, as the U.S. has at times suggested it seeks to topple Iran’s government or elevate new leadership from within.
Russia has meanwhile provided Iran with information that could help Tehran strike the US military, according to two officials familiar with US intelligence on the matter.
Qatar’s energy minister Saad al-Kaabi warned in an interview with the Financial Times that the war could “bring down the economies of the world,” predicting a widespread shutdown of Gulf energy exports that could send oil to US$150 a barrel.
-With Associated Press