Trump: US may carry out another military operation against Iran

FORT MYERS, Florida- President Donald Trump said on Friday the US may carry out another military operation against Iran just as the Iran war nears its eight-month mark and rising fuel prices weigh on the US midterm elections.

"We may do another little Epic Fury," Trump told a rally in Florida, using the US military's term for its war on Iran. He did not elaborate.

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

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

He said this month the US would not launch an attack on Iran before the November 3 elections that will determine control of Congress, where Trump's Republican Party holds a narrow 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.

Tehran plans a wider retaliation if the war resumes, Iranian officials said.

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.

Reporting by Bo Erickson and Kanishka Singh; Editing by David Ljunggren/Reuters