Trump says US will "take care of Cuba" after Iran and may stage "another little Epic Fury"

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the United States would “take care of Cuba” after dealing with Iran and would send Secretary of State Marco Rubio to close out a deal with Havana, Reuters reports.

“We’ll take care of Cuba on our way back from Iran … then we’re going to send Marco Rubio in to finish up the deal,” Trump told a rally at Florida Gulf Coast University’s Alico Arena in Fort Myers, Florida.

Responding to a rallygoer shouting about Cuba, Trump elaborated: “Those beautiful ships. We’ll pass Cuba. 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. We don’t even have to stop,” according to a News-Press live blog of the rally.

Trump also warned Iran of further military action. “We may do another little Epic Fury,” he said. The Times of Israel reported that “Operation Epic Fury” is the name the US military has used for its war against Iran, adding that Trump did not elaborate.

On Venezuela, Trump declared: “We captured and brought to justice the outlaw dictator of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro. … We won the war in Venezuela, and now we’re working with them to produce millions and millions of barrels of oil a week,” the News-Press live blog reported.

Reuters notes Trump had predicted last month that Washington and Havana would reach an agreement and that he did not expect military action to be necessary. The administration’s stated goal is to change Cuba’s communist government, and a US-imposed oil blockade earlier this year has left the island wrestling with fuel shortages and blackouts. Washington has maintained an embargo on Cuba for more than 60 years and stepped up pressure after US forces seized then-president Maduro in a deadly January raid. Cuba’s foreign minister told the UN General Assembly last month that Havana would always be open to dialogue with Washington.