US will 'knock the hell' out of Iran if it continues nuclear programme, says Trump

Speaking to reporters alongside Netanyahu, Trump said he believed Iran was attempting to strengthen itself again following a war between Iran and Israel that eventually drew the US into the conflict.

In Short

• Trump backs action against Iran's missile programme and nuclear advances
• Tensions high with stalled nuclear talks and UN Security Council clashes
• Iran promises harsh response to any US aggression

US President Donald Trump warned on Monday that the US would be prepared to strike Iran if it continued to rebuild its nuclear and military capabilities, issuing one of his strongest threats yet as he met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida.

Speaking to reporters alongside Netanyahu, Trump said he believed Iran was attempting to strengthen itself again following a war between Iran and Israel that eventually drew the US into the conflict.

"Now I hear that Iran is trying to build up again, and if it is, we're going to have to knock them down. We'll knock them down -- we'll knock the hell out of them," he said.

"We know precisely where they are headed and what they are doing. I hope they are not moving in that direction, because we do not want to burn fuel on a B-2," he said, referring to the bomber used in the earlier strike. "It is a 37-hour round trip, and I have no intention of wasting that fuel."

Asked whether he would support an Israeli strike, Trump said he would back action against Iran over its ballistic missile programme and would move immediately if Tehran advanced its nuclear activities.

Earlier this year, the US bombed three nuclear facilities in Iran, a country already strained by years of sanctions and regional conflicts.

Netanyahu has in recent weeks warned that Iran is once again expanding its ballistic missile programme. He is expected to press Trump during their talks to consider further action, arguing that renewed Iranian weapons development poses an immediate threat to Israel and regional stability.

THREAT OF MILITARY ACTION AGAINST IRAN

Trump said Washington preferred a diplomatic outcome but made clear that military options remained on the table. "Iran should make a deal but sometimes that doesn't happen," he said.

Tensions have remained high across the region, with no breakthrough in efforts to revive nuclear negotiations.

Earlier this week, the US and Iran clashed at the United Nations Security Council over the future of stalled talks. Washington has said it remains open to direct negotiations, while Tehran has rejected US demands as unfair and unlawful.

The warning from Trump also follows remarks by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who recently said Iran was in "total war" with the US, Israel and Europe. Pezeshkian described the current confrontation as more complex and dangerous than the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s.

Iranian officials have repeatedly accused the West of using sanctions and pressure to weaken the country, while Western powers say Iran's nuclear activities pose a serious security threat.

IRAN WARNS OF IMMEDIATE RESPONSE TO US AGGRESSION

After the remarks, a senior political adviser to Iran's supreme leader warned that any act of aggression against Iran would trigger an immediate and severe response.

"Iran’s missile capability and defence are neither containable nor subject to permission. Any aggression will meet an immediate harsh response beyond the imagination of its planners," Ali Shamkhani said in a post on X.

After the talks with the Israeli Prime Minister at Mar-a-Lago, the US President also said that Netanyahu did not agree fully on the issue of the occupied West Bank, but he did not lay out what the disagreement was.

He also addressed the situation in Gaza, saying the US was intensifying efforts to recover the remains of the last Israeli hostage believed to be held there. "Doing everything we can to get body of last hostage," Trump said.

On the future of Gaza, Trump said reconstruction efforts would begin soon despite the fragile ceasefire. "Reconstruction of Gaza will begin soon," he said, adding that negotiations were expected to move forward. "Hope to get to phase two of Gaza plan very quickly."

- Ends
With inputs from agencies