Trump says he’d back attack on Iran if it keeps developing nuclear, missile programs

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he would be open to supporting another rapid Israeli attack on Iran if Tehran keeps developing its missile and nuclear programs.

“I hear Iran is trying to build up ‍again, and if they are, we ‍have to ‍knock ⁠them down,” ‌he told ⁠reporters ‍while welcoming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin ⁠Netanyahu to his Mar-a-Lago estate in ‌Florida.

“We’ll knock the hell out of them.” He reiterated the threat after the meeting with Netanyahu.

Trump also said he ‍remained open to negotiating a “deal,” which he called “much smarter.”

Trump struck a decidedly supportive tone ‍with Netanyahu, even as some aides and allies have suggested the Israeli leader was slow-walking elements of the Gaza ceasefire accord signed in October.

Trump said he wanted to move to the second phase of the ceasefire deal between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas as soon as possible, but that “there has to be a disarming of Hamas.”

“I feel that if you had the wrong prime minister, Israel would not exist,” Trump told reporters, in remarks full of praise for the Israeli leader.

He said Israeli President Isaac Herzog had told him he planned to pardon Netanyahu of corruption-related charges. Shortly afterwards, Herzog’s office said the Israeli ‍president ‍had not had any conversations with Trump since a pardon request for ‍Netanyahu was submitted several ‍weeks ago.

Trump added that ⁠he hoped Israel could get along with Syria, even as Netanyahu’s government has consistently infringed upon Syrian territorial sovereignty since former strongman Bashar al-Assad was deposed late last year.

While Israel and Hamas signed a ceasefire deal in October, alleged violations have been frequent, and little apparent progress has been made on longer-term goals.

Netanyahu said this month that Trump had invited him for talks, as Washington pushes to establish transitional governance and an international security force for the Palestinian enclave against Israeli reluctance to move forward.

While Washington has brokered three ceasefires involving its longtime ally – between Israel and Hamas, Israel and Iran, and Israel and Lebanon – Netanyahu is wary of Israel’s foes rebuilding their forces after they were considerably weakened in the war.

Next steps in Gaza ceasefire plan

Israel and Hamas agreed in October to Trump’s plan to end the Gaza war, which ultimately sees Israel withdrawing from the territory and Hamas giving up its weapons and forgoing a governing role.

The first phase of the ceasefire included a partial Israeli withdrawal, an increase of aid and the exchange of hostages for Palestinian detainees and prisoners.

An Israeli official in Netanyahu’s circle said that the prime minister would demand that the first phase of the ceasefire be completed by Hamas returning the remains of ‍the last Israeli hostage left in Gaza, before moving ahead to the next stages. The family of the deceased hostage, Ran Gvili, has joined the prime minister’s visiting entourage and is expected to meet officials from Trump’s administration.

Israel has yet to open the Rafah crossing between ‍Gaza and Egypt, also a condition of Trump’s plan, saying it will only do so once ‍Gvili’s remains are returned.

Chuck Freilich, a political scientist ⁠at Tel Aviv University, said that with an election due in October, Netanyahu was in a tight spot.

“He doesn’t want a clash ‌with Trump in an election year,” Freilich, a former Israeli deputy national ⁠security adviser, said. “(Trump) wants to go forward, and Bibi (Netanyahu) is going to have to make some ‍compromises there.”

Tenuous truce

Ahead of his meeting with Trump, Netanyahu’s office said he met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth. Rubio said last week that Washington wants the transitional administration envisioned in Trump’s plan – a Board of Peace and a body made ⁠up of Palestinian technocrats – to be in place soon to govern Gaza, ahead of the deployment of the international security force that was mandated by a November 17 UN Security Council resolution.

But Israel and Hamas have accused each other of major breaches of the deal and look no ‌closer to accepting the much more difficult steps envisaged for the next phase. Hamas, which has refused to disarm, has been reasserting its control as Israeli troops remain entrenched in about half the territory.

Israel has indicated that if Hamas is not disarmed peacefully, it will resume military action to make it do so.

While the fighting has abated, it has not stopped entirely. Although the ceasefire officially began in October, Israeli strikes have killed more than 400 Palestinians – most of them civilians, according to Gaza health officials – and Palestinian militants have killed three Israeli soldiers.

Lebanon ceasefire also tested

In Lebanon, a US-backed ceasefire in November 2024 ended more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah and required the disarmament of the powerful Iran-backed Shia group, beginning in ‍areas south of the river adjacent to Israel. While Lebanon has said it is close to completing the mission within the year-end deadline of disarming Hezbollah, the group has resisted calls to lay down its weapons.

Israel says progress is partial and slow and has been carrying out near-daily strikes in Lebanon, which it says are meant to stop Hezbollah from rebuilding. Iran, which fought a 12-day war with Israel in June, said last week that it had conducted missile exercises for the second time this month.

Asked about Beirut fully disarming Hezbollah and whether Israel should intensify its attacks against the Iran-backed group, Trump said, “We’ll see about it.”

He added: “The Lebanese government is at a little bit of a disadvantage, if you think of it with Hezbollah. But Hezbollah has been behaving badly, so we’ll see what happens.”

Netanyahu said last week that Israel was not seeking a confrontation with Iran, but was aware of the reports, and said he would raise Tehran’s activities with Trump.

The Israeli official said Netanyahu was expected to present intelligence on Iranian efforts to build up its arms.

The official did not elaborate on any Israeli demands or actions regarding Iran.

Trump in June ordered US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites but ‌has since then broached a potential deal with Tehran.