US President Donald Trump speaks to the media next to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he arrives for a meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, on December 29, 2025.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
President Donald Trump on Monday expressed openness to additional military action against Iran if it seeks to build up its stockpile of ballistic weapons and reestablish its nuclear program. However, he urged the country to negotiate.
President Trump, standing next to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said: “Right now, we’re hearing that Iran is trying to rise again. If they were, we’d have to defeat them. We’ll defeat them. We’ll crush them. But I hope that doesn’t happen.”
“I’ve heard that Iran wants a deal. If Iran wants to get a deal, there’s a smarter way to do it,” the president continued.
President Trump chatted with reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida ahead of his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which comes at a dangerous time for the Middle East and amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran.
NBC News reported earlier this month that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli officials are growing concerned that Iran is ramping up production of ballistic missiles damaged in an Israeli attack earlier this year and seeking to rebuild a nuclear enrichment facility that the United States bombed in June.
When asked if he supported Israel’s attack on Iran, President Trump replied, “If they continue to launch missiles, then yes. Nuclear weapons are quick.” “One is definitely yes, and the other one I would do right away.”
President Trump said the leaders of the two countries will also discuss the Gaza issue on Monday, as the White House seeks to push for a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
The first phase of the agreement went into effect in October and remains largely in place. But the second phase, calling for Hamas to disarm and for Israeli forces to withdraw, proved more difficult.
Prime Minister Netanyahu said the second phase could not begin until Hamas returned the remains of the last dead Israeli hostage. “We want to move to phase two as soon as possible, but we need to disarm…We have to disarm Hamas,” Trump said Monday.
Focus on foreign policy
Foreign policy dominates President Trump’s schedule these days.
On Sunday, he hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at Mar-a-Lago. The Trump administration is promoting negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in an effort to end the years-long conflict between the two countries. During the meeting, President Zelensky reportedly asked the United States to guarantee Ukraine’s security for up to 50 years, but the current 20-point peace plan calls for guarantees for 15 years.
Trump also said he had a “very productive” phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, but said several “thorny issues” stand in the way of ending the war.
“There are some issues that will be resolved. Hopefully, once they are resolved, there will be peace,” President Trump said.
In a short but wide-ranging press conference on Monday, President Trump gave an update on his months-long pressure campaign against Venezuela.
The president acknowledged the U.S. attack on a drug loading facility in Venezuela, marking an escalation in his campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
“There was a huge explosion in the pier area where drugs are loaded onto boats… So we hit all the boats, and now we hit that area. It’s the implementation area where they do drug implementation, and that doesn’t exist anymore,” President Trump said.
President Trump recently designated the government a “foreign terrorist organization,” ordered a complete blockade of sanctioned oil tankers traveling in and out of the country, and has targeted suspected Venezuelan drug smuggling vessels.
