US President Donald Trump warned Iran of fresh strikes and said Hamas would have “hell to pay” if it fails to disarm in Gaza, as he presented a united front with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.
Speaking at a news conference with Netanyahu in Florida, Trump threatened to “eradicate” any attempt by Tehran to rebuild its nuclear program or ballistic missile arsenal following US and Israeli strikes earlier this year.
Trump also downplayed reports of tensions with Netanyahu over the second stage of the fragile Gaza ceasefire, saying that Israel had “lived up” to its commitments and that the onus was on Palestinian militant group Hamas.
“If they don’t disarm as they agreed to do, then there will be hell to pay for them,” Trump told reporters at his lavish Mar-a-Lago resort. “They have to disarm in a fairly short period of time.”
Hamas’s armed wing reiterated earlier on Monday that it would not surrender its weapons.
A top political adviser to Iran’s supreme leader on Monday said any aggression against his country would be met with an “immediate harsh response.”
“Iran’s #Missile_Capability and defense are not containable or permission-based. Any aggression will face an immediate #Harsh_Response beyond its planners’ imagination,” Ali Shamkhani wrote on X.
Netanyahu said his meeting with Trump had been “very productive” and announced that Israel was awarding the US leader its highest civilian honor — the first time it has gone to a non-Israeli citizen.
Trump, the self-proclaimed “president of peace,” has been keen to move onto the next phase of the Gaza truce, which would see a Palestinian technocratic government installed and the deployment of an international stabilization force.
While some White House officials fear Netanyahu is slow-walking the process, Trump said he had “very little difference” with the Israeli premier and was “not concerned about anything that Israel’s doing.”
During their fifth meeting in the United States since Trump’s return to power this year, Netanyahu also appeared to have steered the US leader toward focusing on Israel’s concerns about Iran.
Israeli officials and media have expressed concern in recent months that Iran is rebuilding its ballistic missile arsenal after it came under attack during the 12-day war with Israel in June.
Trump said Iran “may be behaving badly” and was looking at new nuclear sites to replace those targeted by US strikes during the same conflict, as well as restoring its missiles.
“I hope they’re not trying to build up again because if they are, we’re going have no choice but very quickly to eradicate that buildup,” Trump said, adding that the US response “may be more powerful than the last time.”
