Donald Trump says US 'may do' another military operation against Iran as midterms loom

President Donald Trump said the US may carry out another military operation against Iran just as the war nears its eight-month mark.

The President spoke to a rally in Fort Myers, Florida as rising fuel prices and the cost of living weigh on voters' minds ahead of the US midterm elections in November.

Mr Trump told a rally of supporters: "We may do another little Epic Fury, or they'll agree. If they're smart, they'll just say, let's get down to business."

However, he did not outline the conditions Tehran would have to meet to prevent another round of military action.

Earlier in the day, President Trump said the US could end the war quickly but questioned whether Washington should seek a swift conclusion or allow the conflict to gradually wind down.

The President, who has offered shifting goalposts and timelines for the war, has said in recent campaign remarks that the war will end soon, "one way or the other."

Earlier this month, he said the US would not launch an attack on Iran before the November 3 midterm elections.

These elections will determine control of Congress, where President Trump's Republican Party holds a slim majority in both chambers.

The US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, and Iran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host US bases.

US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions.

The war has raised oil and gas prices around the world with Tehran planning a wider retaliation if the war resumes.

Iran has drawn up detailed plans to target undersea communications cables in the Gulf if the US and Israel attack Iran again, according to two senior Iranian security officials.

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Elsewhere in his speech, President Trump talked tough about Cuba, part of a pattern of putting pressure on the communist government there after ousting the leader of Venezuela early this year.

President Trump, who won 68 per cent of the Cuban American vote in Florida in the 2024 election, said American naval forces from Iran will stop at Cuba on the way home.

He said: "We'll have one of them stop about 50 yards off the coast. They'll raise up their hands, and then we're going to send Marco Rubio in to finish up the deal."

Secretary of State Rubio, a former US senator from Florida, has been handling much of the Cuba-related policy for the White House.

Mr Rubio said: "To those who seek to create positive change in Cuba - now is the time".

He also urged those disappointed by Cuba's government "to create the change you desire through a discrete partnership with the CIA", without providing further details.

President Trump's rally was intended to boost the electoral prospects of Florida Republican Representative Byron Donalds, who is running for governor against Democrat David Jolly.

His speech, the latest in a near-daily blitz of campaign rallies in largely friendly areas, rambled from topic to topic such as the size of his crowds and his White House renovations.

In September, President Trump labeled Cuba a "failed state" at the UN General Assembly and said, "Freedom will be coming to Cuba," prompting a walkout by the Cuban delegation.

President Trump has openly stated that his goal is to fundamentally change Cuba's government.

A US-imposed oil blockade has put the country under severe strain as it contends with fuel shortages and blackouts exacerbated by failing infrastructure.

UN human rights experts have condemned the oil blockade as a violation of international law while rights advocates say the Trump administration's threats have echoed an imperialist approach.