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President Donald Trump on Friday signaled a shift away from the war with Iran after apparent positive negotiations this week and the administration’s capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, saying “Cuba is next.”
While speaking in Florida at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute Summit at the Faena Forum in Miami Beach, Trump said even though he campaigned on peace through strength, sometimes force is necessary.
“And Cuba is next, by the way. But pretend I didn’t say that,” Trump said. “Please, please, please media, please disregard that statement. Thank you very much — Cuba’s next.”
TRUMP TOUTS ‘MASSIVE’ IRAN ‘PRESENT’ LINKED TO STRAIT OF HORMUZ AS DEAL TALKS HEAT UP
He added that he thought NATO’s absence in negotiations with Iran was a “tremendous mistake.”
“They just weren’t there,” he said. “It’s going to make a lot of money for the United States because we spent hundreds of billions of dollars a year on NATO, hundreds of protecting them. And we would have always been there for them. But now, based on their actions, I guess we don’t have to be, do we?”
TRUMP LASHES OUT AT ‘SICK’ IRANIAN LEADERS, CONFIRMS ESTIMATED TIMELINE FOR ENDING WAR
The president talked about the Strait of Hormuz, which he pressured NATO to help the U.S. reopen.
“We’re negotiating [with Iran] now, and it would be great if we could do something, but they have to open it up,” he said. “They have to open up the Strait of Trump — I mean, Hormuz. … The fake news will say he accidentally said [that]. No, there’s no accidents with me.”
TRUMP THREATENS KEY IRANIAN GAS FIELD AFTER ISRAELI STRIKE
Previously, when asked about control of the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said the U.S. will “have control of anything we want.”
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The Iranian regime has imposed multimillion-dollar charges on some tankers transiting the critical global shipping choke point, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil supply flows.