U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu upon arrival at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., December 29, 2025.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
President Donald Trump on Monday appeared open to additional military action against Iran if it attempts to increase its ballistic weapons reserves and rebuild its nuclear program. But he urged the country to negotiate.
Standing next to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said, “Now I hear that Iran is trying to get stronger again, and if so, we will have to take them down. We will take them down. We will destroy them. But I hope that doesn’t happen.”
“I heard Iran wants to make a deal. If they want to make a deal, that would be much smarter,” the president continued.
Trump joked with reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida ahead of his meeting with Netanyahu at a worrying time for the Middle East and amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran.
NBC News reported Earlier this month, Netanyahu and Israeli officials became increasingly concerned that Iran was trying to increase its ballistic missile production, damaged by Israeli strikes earlier this year, and rebuild nuclear enrichment sites that the United States bombed in June.
Asked if he would support Israeli strikes against Iran, Trump said: “If they’re going to keep missiles, yes. Nuclear, fast.” “One will be a definite yes, and the other is we will do it right away.”
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Trump said Gaza is expected to be discussed by both world leaders on Monday as the White House tries to advance a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
The first phase of the agreement entered into force in October and remained largely valid. But the second phase, which would call for Hamas to disarmament and require the withdrawal of Israeli military forces, proved to be more challenging.
Netanyahu said the second phase could not begin until Hamas returned the remains of the last dead Israeli hostage. Trump said Monday he hopes to move into phase two as soon as possible. But there needs to be disarmament… We need to disarm with Hamas.”
Foreign policy under the spotlight
Foreign policy has dominated Trump’s schedule lately.
Hosted the President of Ukraine on Sunday Volodymyr Zelenskyy is at Mar-a-Lago. The Trump administration is facilitating negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in an effort to end the long-standing conflict between the two countries. It was reported that during the meeting, Zelenskyy requested a security guarantee of up to 50 years for Ukraine from the USA, but the current 20-item peace plan includes 15-year guarantees.
Trump also said he had a “very productive” meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, but said several “tough issues” were standing in the way of ending the war.
“Hopefully there are a few problems we can solve, and if we do, you’ll have peace,” Trump said.
At Monday’s brief, wide-ranging news conference, Trump offered updates on his months-long pressure campaign against Venezuela.
The president confirmed a U.S. attack on a drug loading facility in Venezuela, marking an escalation in his campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Trump said, “There was a big explosion in the dock area where they loaded drugs onto the boats. So we hit all the boats, and now we hit the area. That’s the application area, it’s not around anymore.”
Trump recently designated the government as a “foreign terrorist organization,” ordered a total blockade of sanctioned oil tankers entering and exiting the country, and is targeting alleged Venezuelan drug boats.
