US President Donald Trump said that Washington could execute another military strike against the Islamic Republic of Iran, referencing prior combat actions amid ongoing regional hostilities, Reuters reported.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Florida on Friday, Oct. 23, Trump addressed the armed conflict involving American forces and Tehran, suggesting that further kinetic operations remain an active policy option.
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“We may do another little Epic Fury,” Trump told supporters, referencing the operational code name associated with US military actions against Iranian assets.
The remarks were delivered during a broader address focused on international security and commercial trade policy ahead of the Nov. 3 US midterm elections.
Middle East disruptions
Trump’s statements arrive amid persistent transatlantic debate regarding the economic fallout of the conflict in the Middle East, particularly surrounding shipping lanes in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
In an interview published on Thursday, Oct. 22, on “The Diary of a CEO” podcast, President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the Trump administration’s foreign policy approach, arguing that energy market volatility stems directly from escalating military engagements in the Middle East rather than Ukrainian defense operations.
Zelensky rejected claims by the US administration asserting that Ukrainian long-range drone interdictions against Russian oil refineries were responsible for driving up domestic US retail diesel benchmarks.
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“I think it’s wrong and unacceptable that he pins Russia’s aggression and Russia’s killings on me,” Zelensky said, pointing to disruptions across maritime bottlenecks in the Middle East as the primary source of international fuel benchmark pressures.
Zelensky observed that Kyiv had repeatedly proposed a verified, reciprocal suspension of attacks against energy infrastructure, but noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin had refused to formalize a ceasefire.
Zelensky argued that criticism directed at Ukraine diverted attention from the structural drivers of inflation tied to Middle Eastern instability.
Moscow-Tehran military cooperation
The prospect of expanded US operations against Iran coincides with assessments regarding technical and military cooperation between Moscow and Tehran.
Speaking at a joint press conference in Oslo on Tuesday, Oct. 20, alongside Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Zelensky stated that Ukrainian defense agencies have identified evidence of Russian drone transfers and intelligence assistance provided to Iran.
“I think that Putin helps Iranians and helped, because we saw different details from the drones which Russia delivered to Iran,” Zelensky stated.
“I think also they shared with them intelligence, I mean from satellites and other information. This is what we know.”
Responding to questions regarding whether the Kremlin is leveraging its ties with Tehran to influence Washington’s foreign policy calculations, Zelensky emphasized that Moscow has aligned itself with Iranian strategic interests.
“I don’t know too much, yes, but I know that Russia stays on the side of Iranians,” Zelensky added.
Ukrainian security authorities previously indicated that Russian electronic warfare units and space-based reconnaissance assets have provided signals intelligence to Iranian command centers, reflecting an expanding axis of bilateral defense cooperation while the US evaluates operational countermeasures across the region.
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