Donald Trump has signalled which nation he could set his sights on next, only days after a wave of strikes against Iran.
Since February 28, US and Israeli forces have carried out attacks on a number of locations inside Iran, with the military action beginning after talks on Iran’s nuclear program ended without an agreement with the US.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed during the bombing campaign, and officials in the country are now moving through the process of choosing a successor.
Even before the fallout from the Iran operation has settled, Trump has raised the prospect of pressure shifting to another target — one far closer to the United States.
During a CNN appearance on Friday morning, Trump said the country in question “is going to fall pretty soon”.
He was referring to Cuba, the island nation south of Florida on the edge of the Gulf of Mexico.
“Cuba is gonna fall pretty soon, by the way, unrelated, but Cuba is gonna fall too,’ Trump said. “They want to make a deal so badly.
“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.”
Trump added: “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.”
Cuba has long been a flashpoint in US foreign policy, dating back to 1959 when Fidel Castro’s revolution toppled the US-supported leader Fulgencio Batista.
Tensions deepened after the Bay of Pigs operation — a US-backed invasion by Cuban opponents of Castro — collapsed, strengthening the new government’s grip and providing it with a powerful political narrative.
The island later became the focal point of a major Cold War showdown when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev placed nuclear missiles there, triggering a high-stakes standoff.
Over the following decades, Cuba faced a sweeping US embargo that drew condemnation from the United Nations.
By 2015, the relationship appeared to be improving near the end of Barack Obama’s presidency, including eased travel rules and changes to some import and export licensing.
As the temperature dropped, Cuba also began seeing a greater flow of outside influence after years of isolation.
That momentum shifted after Trump won the White House in 2016, and he later moved to restore the embargo in 2017.
Now serving his second term, Trump has suggested he wants a tougher, more hands-on posture toward Havana, with additional restrictions tightened again in 2025.