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Donald Trump has threatened to launch new attacks against Iran if it is found to be rebuilding its nuclear program during talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump also said Hamas has “very little time to disarm” in Gaza, where a largely US-brokered ceasefire has been in place since October, otherwise Palestinian militants will suffer “hell to pay”.
These warnings come as the US President’s efforts to establish peace across the Middle East have failed. Implementation of the US peace plan in Gaza has stalled and tensions with Iran appear to be rising.
Trump claimed that Iran’s nuclear enrichment program was “destroyed” after the US joined Israel in the 12-day war with the Islamic Republic in June, before declaring an end to the conflict.
“Now I’ve heard that Iran is trying to build up again and if they’re doing that, we have to eliminate them… we will eliminate them,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Monday.
Standing beside Netanyahu, Trump said, “Iran is probably behaving badly. It has not been confirmed. But if it is confirmed … the consequences will be very powerful.”
Trump’s change in tone marks a victory for Netanyahu, whose government has argued that Israel’s regional adversaries, including Hamas and Iran, have no interest in the peace proposals being pushed by Trump.
Israel alleges that Iran is rapidly rebuilding its ballistic missile arsenal. Netanyahu has also suggested that pressure from the Trump administration to implement the next phase of Trump’s Gaza peace plan is unrealistic because Hamas is unwilling to disarm.
Trump’s peace plan has faltered over issues such as the disarmament of Hamas, the deployment of international security forces, and the future governance of Gaza.
The fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, which ended two years of heavy Israeli bombardment of the Palestinian territory, has been tested by almost daily fighting and Israeli attacks.
Palestinian health officials say more than 400 Palestinians have been killed since the October ceasefire.
US officials have stressed that “Phase 2” of Trump’s 20-point peace plan will begin in January.
This would include the unveiling of an international “peace board” and an executive committee to oversee the Strip, a Palestinian technical committee on the ground to handle daily governance, as well as the deployment of a multinational peacekeeping force.
Israeli forces – which currently still hold about half of Gaza – will gradually withdraw as a multinational force enters the strip to oversee the disarmament of Hamas and post-war reconstruction.
Before the meeting, Israeli officials were concerned that Trump might try to pressure Netanyahu into agreeing to further troop withdrawals.
But as the two leaders emerged from their meeting, Trump refused to talk about Israel’s withdrawal and said Hamas had failed to abide by the agreement.
Asked about the pace of implementation, Trump said, “I’m not worried about anything Israel is doing.” “They’ve stuck to plan.”
Israeli officials have rejected the possibility that any international or Palestinian security forces would undertake the disarmament of Hamas.
Trump said on Monday that other countries would “come in and do it”, stressing that dozens of governments have endorsed his 20-point peace plan. But no country has committed to sending troops to Gaza.
Trump said he and the Israeli leader spoke at length about the occupied West Bank, where the US has opposed Israel’s rapid expansion of Jewish settlements.
“I wouldn’t say we agree 100% on the West Bank, but we will reach a conclusion on the West Bank,” Trump said, adding that Netanyahu will “do the right thing.”
Trump also urged Netanyahu to “meet” with Syria and its new President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who he said “is working very hard to do a good job”.
Since the overthrow of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad late last year, Israel has continued to capture additional areas of southwestern Syria, despite US pressure to withdraw, as it seeks to bolster its security.
