Trump warns Iran against rebuilding nuclear program, presses Hamas to disarm

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday issued sharp warnings to Iran and Hamas during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago, saying renewed nuclear activity by Tehran and refusal by Hamas to disarm would trigger severe consequences.

Trump said the next phase of the Gaza peace plan cannot proceed unless Hamas gives up its weapons, warning that failure to do so would be “horrible” for the group and that there would be “hell to pay.” He added that Hamas would be given only a “very short period of time” to disarm—an outcome Israel has said is unlikely in the near term.

The president further claimed that other countries seeking to see the ceasefire deal implemented would “go and wipe them out” should Hamas refuse to comply.

Turning to Iran, Trump warned Tehran against attempting to rebuild its nuclear capabilities, saying the United States would respond forcefully if it tried to rearm.

“Now I hear that Iran is trying to build up again, 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,” Trump said.

He added that Iran would be better off pursuing a deal with Washington, noting that Tehran had declined a previous opportunity before what he described as a “big attack” on the country.

Earlier this year, the United States carried out strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities using bunker-busting bombs and cruise missiles. Trump said the facilities were “obliterated,” though the extent to which Iran’s nuclear program was set back remains unclear.

Trump also said he would support an Israeli attack on Iran should Tehran continue advancing its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs.

“The missiles, yes. The nuclear, fast. Okay. One will be, yes, absolutely. The other was, we’ll do it immediately,” he said.

Asked whether he would back efforts to overthrow Iran’s leadership, Trump declined to comment, citing Iran’s domestic economic troubles, including high inflation and a struggling economy.

The remarks came days after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran is engaged in a “full-scale” war with the United States, Israel and Europe, describing Iran’s diplomatic environment as “complicated and difficult.”

“In my opinion, we are in a full-scale war with America, Israel, and Europe; they do not want our country to stand on its feet,” Pezeshkian said in an interview posted on the official website of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Pezeshkian compared the current situation to the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq war, saying it was “much more complicated and difficult,” while maintaining that Iran remains capable of defending its national interests despite sanctions and foreign pressure.

The interview was released ahead of Netanyahu’s visit to the United States, where discussions were expected to focus on the Gaza peace plan, the disarmament of Hamas, the demilitarization of Gaza, the fate of the remaining hostage in the Strip, and what Israel describes as the threat posed by Iran to regional and U.S. security.

The U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in June during a 12-day conflict that killed about 1,100 people in Iran and targeted key nuclear facilities, air defense systems, and military and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) sites. Senior military, IRGC and nuclear research personnel were among those killed. Iranian retaliatory missile strikes killed 28 people in Israel.

During the conflict, Netanyahu repeatedly suggested Israel could pursue a regime change strategy in Iran, urging Iranians to “stand up” against the Khamenei-led government. Trump also fueled speculation days before the U.S. joined the campaign, writing on social media that the United States knew where Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was located, though he said there were no plans to kill him “at least not for now.”

In the months since the fighting, there has been little progress toward a new agreement to limit Iran’s nuclear program or cap its ballistic missile arsenal—objectives long pursued by Trump.

Netanyahu met Trump shortly after Iran conducted a major military exercise involving ballistic missiles. Last week, the Israeli leader warned that “any action against Israel will be met with a very severe response.”

Meanwhile, Iran continues to face mounting economic pressure at home. The national currency, the rial, has weakened in recent weeks, sparking protests and business closures, including the temporary shutdown of shops in two large malls in downtown Tehran.

Pezeshkian, widely viewed as a moderate compared with hardliners aligned with the IRGC, was elected to replace late President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in 2024 in an election marked by the lowest voter turnout in the Islamic Republic’s history.