Trump warns the U.S. will ‘destroy’ Iran’s nuclear capabilities if it’s rebuilding them amid Israeli concerns about long-range missiles

On Monday, President warned Iran against restarting its nuclear program as he welcomed Israeli Prime Minister to his Florida home for extensive talks.

This warning follows Trump’s insistence that Tehran’s nuclear capabilities were “completely and fully destroyed” by in June. However, Israeli officials have been quoted in local media expressing concerns about Iran rebuilding its supply of long-range missiles capable of hitting Israel.

“Now I hear that Iran is trying to build up again,” Trump told reporters shortly after Netanyahu arrived at his Mar-a-Lago estate. “And if they are, we’re going to have to knock them down. We’ll knock them down. We’ll knock the hell out of them. But hopefully that’s not happening.”

Trump’s warning to Iran comes as his administration has dedicated significant resources to targeting drug trafficking in South America, and the president aims to generate new momentum for the U.S.-brokered Israel-Hamas ceasefire. The Gaza deal is at risk of stalling before reaching its complex second phase, which would involve naming an international governing body and rebuilding the devastated Palestinian territory.

Iran has maintained that it is at any site in the country, attempting to signal to the West that it remains open to potential negotiations regarding its atomic program. But Netanyahu was expected to discuss with Trump the need to potentially take new military action against Tehran just months after launching a 12-day war on Iran.

The Iranian mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s warning.

Trump criticized Iran anew for not reaching a deal to completely disarm its nuclear program before the U.S. and Israeli strikes earlier this year.

“They wish they made that deal,” Trump said.

Gaza ceasefire progress has slowed

Trump, with Netanyahu beside him, said he wants to reach the second phase of the Gaza deal “as soon as possible.”

“But there has to be a disarming of Hamas,” Trump added.

The that Trump championed has mostly held, but progress has recently slowed. Both sides, and divisions have emerged among the U.S., Israel, and Arab countries regarding the way forward.

The truce’s first phase began in October, days after the two-year anniversary of the initial Hamas-led attack on Israel that killed approximately 1,200 people. taken then have been released,.

The Israeli leader, who also met separately with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, has indicated he is in no hurry to move forward with the next phase as long as the remains of are still in Gaza.

Gvili’s parents met with Netanyahu, as well as Rubio, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, in Florida on Monday. The Gvilis are expected to meet with Trump later in the day, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group that advocates for families of abductees of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

“They’re waiting for their son to come home,” Trump said of the family of affectionately known as “Rani,”

Next phase is complex

The path ahead is surely complicated.

If successful, the second phase would involve the rebuilding of a demilitarized Gaza under international supervision by a group chaired by Trump and called the Board of Peace. The Palestinians would form a “technocratic, apolitical” committee to manage daily affairs in Gaza, under the supervision of the Board of Peace.

It further calls for normalized relations between Israel and the Arab world and a possible path to Palestinian independence. Then there are棘手的后勤和人道主义问题, including rebuilding war-torn Gaza, disarming Hamas, and creating a security apparatus called the.

Much remains unsettled

Two main challenges have complicated the move to the second phase, according to an official briefed on those meetings. Israeli officials have been taking a long time to vet and approve members of the Palestinian technocratic committee from a list provided to them by the mediators, and Israel continues its military strikes.

Trump’s plan also calls for the stabilization force, proposed as a multinational body, to maintain security. But it, too, has yet to be formed. Whether details will be forthcoming after Monday’s meeting is unclear.

A Western diplomat said there is a “huge gap” between the U.S.-Israeli understanding of the force’s mandate and that of other major countries in the region, as well as European governments.

All spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details that haven’t been made public.

The U.S. and Israel want the force to have a “commanding role” in security duties, including disarming Hamas and other militant groups. But countries being asked to contribute troops fear that mandate will make it an “occupation force,” the diplomat said.

Hamas has said it is ready to discuss “freezing or storing” its arsenal of weapons but insists it has a right to armed resistance as long as Israel occupies Palestinian territory. One U.S. official said a potential plan might be to offer cash incentives in exchange for weapons, echoing a “buyback” program Witkoff has previously proposed.

Trump makes case once again for Netanyahu pardon

The two leaders, who have a long and close relationship, praised each other. Trump also gently chided the Israeli leader, who at times during the war has angered Trump, for being “very difficult at times.”

Trump also on Israeli President Isaac Herzog to grant Netanyahu, who is in the middle of a corruption trial, a pardon.

Netanyahu is the only sitting prime minister in Israeli history to stand trial, after being charged with in three separate cases accusing him of trading favors with wealthy political supporters.

Trump has previously written to Herzog to urge a pardon and advocated for one during his October speech before the Knesset. He said Monday that Herzog has told him “it’s on its way” without providing further details.

“He’s a wartime prime minister who’s a hero. How do you not give a pardon?” Trump said.

Herzog’s office said in a statement that the Israeli president and Trump have not spoken since the pardon request was submitted, but that Herzog has spoken with a Trump representative about the U.S. president’s letter advocating for Netanyahu’s pardon.

“During that conversation, an explanation was provided regarding the stage of the process in which the request currently stands, and that any decision on the matter will be made in accordance with the established procedures,” the Israeli president’s office. “This was conveyed to President Trump’s representative, exactly as President Herzog stated publicly in Israel.”