United States President Donald Trump said the US could support another major strike on Iran were it to resume rebuilding its nuclear programs and warned Hamas of severe consequences if it does not disarm.
Speaking besides Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following a meeting at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Tuesday AEDT, Trump suggested Iran may be working to restore its weapons programs after a massive US strike in June, without providing any evidence.
"I've been reading that they're building up weapons and other things, and if they are, they're not using the sites we obliterated, but possibly different sites," Trump told reporters during a press conference.
"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".
But Trump said he believed Iran was still interested in a deal with the US on its nuclear and missile programs. However, the Iranian regime has always denied claims it's pursuing nuclear weapons, saying its program is aimed at "developing civilian nuclear power".
Iran on Monday denounced reports of it rebuilding its ballistic missile arsenal as a "psychological operation" against Iran, emphasising it was fully prepared to defend itself, and warning renewed aggression would "result in harsher consequences" for Israel.
Trump said his talks with Netanyahu focused on advancing the fragile Gaza peace deal he brokered and addressing Israeli concerns over Iran and over Hezbollah in Lebanon.
While Israel and Hamas signed a ceasefire deal in October, alleged violations have been frequent, and little apparent progress has been made on longer-term goals.
Since the ceasefire started in October, Israeli strikes have killed more than 400 Palestinians — most of them civilians, according to Gaza health officials — and Hamas has reportedly killed three Israeli soldiers.
Trump warns Hamas if it doesn't disarm
Trump said he wanted to move to the second phase of the ceasefire deal, a progression that entails international peacekeeping forces deployed in the Palestinian enclave.
Israel and Hamas accuse each other of major breaches of the deal and show no sign of accepting the much more difficult steps envisaged for the next phase. Hamas, which has refused to disarm, has been reasserting its control as Israeli troops remain entrenched in about half the territory.
Israel has indicated that if Hamas is not disarmed peacefully, it will resume military action to make it do so.
"There will be hell to pay," Trump warned when asked what he would do if Hamas does not lay down its arms. He has made similar statements at previous intervals during the fighting.
Netanyahu said this month that Trump had invited him for the talks, as the US pushes to establish transitional governance for the Palestinian enclave amid Israeli reluctance to move forward.
The deployment of the international security force was mandated by a 17 November United Nations Security Council resolution.
Overall, Trump's comments suggested he remains firmly in Netanyahu's camp, even as some aides have privately questioned the Israeli leader's commitment to the Gaza ceasefire.
Trump struck a warm tone as he greeted Netanyahu before their meeting, going so far as to say that Israeli President Isaac Herzog had told him he planned to pardon Netanyahu of corruption-related charges — a conversation Herzog's office immediately denied took place.
What are the next steps in Gaza ceasefire plan?
Trump's plan to end the war in Gaza ultimately calls for Israel to withdraw from the Palestinian territory and Hamas to give up its weapons and forgo a governing role.
The first phase of the ceasefire included a partial Israeli withdrawal, an increase of aid and the exchange of hostages for Palestinian detainees and prisoners.
An Israeli official in Netanyahu's circle said the prime minister would demand that the first phase of the ceasefire be completed by Hamas returning the remains of the last Israeli hostage left in Gaza, before moving ahead to the next stages.
The family of the deceased hostage, Ran Gvili, has joined the prime minister's visiting entourage and is expected to meet officials from Trump's administration.
Israel has yet to open the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, also a condition of Trump's plan, saying it will only do so once Gvili's remains are returned.
Trump said he and Netanyahu did not agree fully on the issue of the occupied West Bank but the Republican leader did not lay out what the disagreement was.
Chuck Freilich, a political scientist at Tel Aviv University, said with an election due in October, Netanyahu was in a tight spot.
"He doesn't want a clash with Trump in an election year," Freilich, a former Israeli deputy national security adviser, said. "[Trump] wants to go forward, and Bibi [Netanyahu] is going to have to make some compromises there."
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