Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush has praised President Donald Trump for what he described as severely weakening Iran's military capabilities, while simultaneously cautioning that Cuba is now believed to possess hundreds of Iranian-made explosive drones. Speaking as chairman of the advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), Bush framed the reported drone stockpile so close to the US mainland as a security concern, though he stressed that American defences remain capable of protecting the homeland.

Bush made the remarks on Wednesday at a UANI event at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Florida, standing beside a recovered Iranian Shahed-136 drone — a cheap but effective "kamikaze" weapon Iran has used across the Middle East and supplied to Russia for use against Ukraine. Citing press reports, he said there were around 300 such drones in Cuba. He was joined by Republican Representative Carlos Gimenez, who called the drones a "terror weapon" and the "face of warfare", pointing to their extensive use in Ukraine and the way AI is enhancing their effectiveness, while former US Ambassador to the UN Mark Wallace, now UANI's chief executive, described the Shahed as "the ubiquitous terror weapon of mass destruction in modern warfare".