During Netanyahu visit, Trump warns Iran of further US strikes if it
reconstitutes nuclear program
[December 30, 2025]
By WILL WEISSERT, SAM MEDNICK, SAMY MAGDY and AAMER
MADHANI
PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump warned Iran on Monday
that the U.S. could carry out further military strikes if the country
attempts to reconstitute its nuclear program as he held wide-ranging
talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his home in
Florida.
Trump had previously insisted that Tehran's nuclear capabilities were
“completely and fully obliterated” by U.S. strikes on key nuclear
enrichment sites in June. But with Netanyahu by his side, Trump raised
the possibility that suspected activity could be taking place outside
those sites. Israeli officials, meanwhile, have been quoted in local
media expressing concern about Iran rebuilding its supply of long-range
missiles capable of striking Israel.
“Now I hear that Iran is trying to build up again,” Trump told reporters
gathered 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 committed
significant resources to targeting drug trafficking in South America and
the president looks to create fresh momentum for the U.S.-brokered
Israel-Hamas ceasefire. The Gaza deal is in danger of stalling before
reaching its complicated second phase that would involve naming an
international governing body and rebuilding the devastated Palestinian
territory.
At a news conference with Netanyahu after their meeting, Trump suggested
that he could order another U.S. strike.
“If it’s confirmed, they know the consequences, and the consequences
will be very powerful, maybe more powerful than the last time,” Trump
said.
Iran has insisted that it is no longer enriching uranium at any site in
the country, trying to signal to the West that it remains open to
potential negotiations over its atomic program. The two leaders
discussed the possibility of taking new military action against Tehran
just months after June’s 12-day war.
The Iranian mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to
a request for comment on Trump’s warning.
Gaza ceasefire progress has slowed
Trump, with Netanyahu by his side, said he wants to get to the second
phase of the Gaza deal “as quickly as we can.”
“But there has to be a disarming of Hamas,” Trump added.
The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that Trump championed has mostly
held, but progress has slowed recently. Both sides accuse each other of
violations, and divisions have emerged among the U.S., Israel and Arab
countries about the path 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 about
1,200 people. All but one of the 251 hostages taken then have been
released, alive or dead.
The Israeli leader, who also met separately with Secretary of State
Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, has signaled he is in no
rush to move forward with the next phase as long as the remains of Ran
Gvili 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.
“They’re waiting for their son to come home," Trump said of the family
of the young police officer known affectionately as “Rani."
Next phase is complex
The path to implementing Trump's peace plan is certainly complicated.
If successful, the second phase would see the rebuilding of a
demilitarized Gaza under international supervision by a group chaired by
Trump and known as the Board of Peace. The Palestinians would form a
“technocratic, apolitical” committee to run daily affairs in Gaza, under
Board of Peace supervision.
It further calls for normalized relations between Israel and the Arab
world and a possible pathway to Palestinian independence. Then there are
thorny logistical and humanitarian questions, including rebuilding
war-ravaged Gaza, disarming Hamas and creating a security apparatus
called the International Stabilization Force.
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President Donald Trump listens as Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu speaks during an arrival at his Mar-a-Lago club, Monday,
Dec. 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Much remains unsettled
Two main challenges have complicated moving to the second phase,
according to an official who was briefed on those meetings. Israeli
officials have been taking a lot of time to vet and approve members
of the Palestinian technocratic committee from a list given 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 gulf” 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 courted 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
floated.
Trump makes case once again for Netanyahu pardon
The two leaders, who have a long and close relationship, heaped
praise on each other. Trump also tweaked the Israeli leader, who at
moments during the war has raised Trump's ire, for being “very
difficult on occasion.”
Netanyahu said Trump during the lunch was formally told that his
country's education ministry will award him the Israel Prize,
breaking the long-held convention of bestowing the honor on an
Israeli citizen or resident.
“President Trump has broken so many conventions to the surprise of
people,” Netanyahu said. He added, “So we decided to break a
convention too, or create a new one."
Trump also renewed his call on Israeli President Isaac Herzog to
grant Netanyahu, who is in the midst of a corruption trial, a
pardon.
Netanyahu is the only sitting prime minister in Israeli history to
stand trial, after being charged with fraud, breach of trust and
accepting bribes in three separate cases accusing him of exchanging
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
offering 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 said.
___
Mednick reported from Jerusalem and Magdy from Cairo. Associated
Press writers Darlene Superville in Washington, Farnoush Amiri at
the United Nations, and Lee Keath and Fatma Khaled in Cairo
contributed to this report.
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