During a speech at the FII Priority Summit in Miami, Trump said that the US is "negotiating now, and it would be great if we could do something, but they have to open it up."
US President Donald Trump on Friday said that the US is negotiating with Iran over the situation in the Strait of Hormuz.
During a speech at the FII Priority Summit in Miami, Trump said that the US is "negotiating now, and it would be great if we could do something, but they have to open it up."
He then proceeded to joke about renaming the waterway "Strait of Trump" as a condition to end the war.
Trump also said he wanted to restart discussions about new nations signing the Abraham Accords. "It's now time,” Trump said and added that he hopes “all of the countries” will participate.
Additionally, Trump assured that the US is "closer than ever to the rise of the Middle East that is finally free at last from Iranian terror... For 47 years, Iran has been known as the bully of the Middle East, but they are not the bully any longer."
Addressing the largely unknown fate of Iran's new supposed Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, Trump said the Iranian leader was either dead by now or in very serious condition, noting that no one has heard from him.
He also referred to the lack of support NATO provided to the US during Operation Epic Fury, saying that now the United States does not "have to be there for NATO."
"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 told the audience.
"That sounds like a breaking story? Yes, sir. Is that breaking news? I think we just have breaking news, but that's the fact. I've been saying that. Why would we be there for them if they're not there for us? They weren't there for us."
Trump: "Cuba is next"
Trump also said that "Cuba is next" during his speech in Miami, after he touted the successes of US military action in Venezuela and Iran.
While the president did not specify what precisely he plans to do with the island nation, he has frequently said he believes the government in Havana, facing a severe economic crisis, is on the verge of collapse.
His administration has opened up negotiations with elements of Cuba's leadership in recent weeks, while Trump himself has hinted that kinetic action could be possible.
"I built this great military. I said, 'You'll never have to use it.' But sometimes you have to use it. And Cuba is next, by the way," Trump told the conference. "But pretend I didn't say that. Pretend I didn't."
Additionally, Trump referred to the operation during his previous mandate, where former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps chief Qasem Soleimani was killed.
"He was so powerful that I really think that the leadership of Iran was extremely happy when I took him out, but they don't say that, but nobody's going to be asking them anymore because they're not here either," Trump said.
Reuters and Tobias Siegal contributed to this report.
