The US president signaled support for a potential Israeli attack on Iran’s ballistic missile program
News Desk -- The Cradle
“He's a wartime prime minister who's a hero. How do you not give a pardon?” Trump told reporters while standing beside Netanyahu in Florida. “I spoke to the president ... he tells me it's on its way.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog refuted the claims, saying that he has not discussed the pardon with Trump since Netanyahu’s request was filed weeks ago.
During a press conference with Netanyahu, Trump claimed Israel has “lived up to” the Gaza ceasefire plan “100 percent,” despite the non-stop attacks on the strip and the hundreds of Palestinians killed since the deal was reached.
He also expressed hope that the second phase of the Gaza agreement would be reached “very quickly” and threatened that Hamas would have “hell to pay” if it did not disarm soon.
“If they don't disarm, as they agreed to do, they agreed to it, and then there will be hell to pay for them. They have to disarm in a fairly short period of time.” He also claimed reconstruction could begin “pretty soon.”
Israel has violated the Gaza ceasefire more than 700 times, killing over 400 Palestinians since October.
The deal required Israeli forces to withdraw toward the ‘Yellow Line,’ but Tel Aviv has continued to expand its presence in Gaza in violation of the deal, erecting over a dozen new outposts since October.
The Israeli army also continues to systematically destroy civilian infrastructure in the strip.
Netanyahu and the US president discussed Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah during the meeting as well.
“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. But hopefully that’s not happening,” Trump said.
“I heard Iran wants to make a deal. If they want to make a deal that’s much smarter,” he added.
When asked if the US would support Israeli attacks on Iran’s missile and nuclear programs, Trump said, “If they will continue with the missiles, yes. The nuclear, fast. One will be yes, absolutely, and the other we will do it immediately.”
“I hope they’re not doing it, because we don’t want to waste the fuel on a B-2; it’s a 37-hour trip, both ways,” Trump went on to say.
US B-2 bombers launched a bunker-buster attack on Iranian nuclear facilities in late June. The president said at the time that the Iranian nuclear program was “obliterated.” He has repeated the claim multiple times despite intelligence reports refuting it.
Iran has acknowledged severe damage to the targeted sites.
The Islamic Republic has refused to re-enter nuclear negotiations unless Washington drops its demands for a curb on its missile program and an end to uranium enrichment.
Recent reports have said Iran is working to build up and enhance its stockpile of ballistic missiles, which caused extensive damage across Israel and hit multiple key military sites during the 12-day war in June.
Regarding Hezbollah, the US president said the Lebanese resistance has “been behaving badly.”
“We're gonna see about that. We'll see about it. The Lebanese government is at a little bit of a disadvantage if you think about it with Hezbollah, but Hezbollah has been behaving badly, so we'll see what happens,” he said in response to a reporter’s question on whether or not Israel should “strike Hezbollah again.”
Israel has publicly threatened a new war against Lebanon if the resistance does not surrender its arms by the end of 2025. US officials have backed Israel’s threats.
The Lebanese army has been dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure south of the Litani River in line with the ceasefire agreement reached last year. But Washington and Tel Aviv are pushing for a quick, forceful, and full disarmament across the whole country – even at the risk of pitting the army against the resistance and sparking a civil war.
Trump also expressed hope that Netanyahu would “get along” with Syria.
Israel continues to bomb Syria and expand its occupation in the country’s south, despite the new extremist-led government vowing to pose no threat to Tel Aviv.
Direct talks between the two sides have reportedly been stalled in recent weeks.
On 25 December, Hebrew media reported new progress in the talks and did not rule out that a meeting could soon be held between Netanyahu and Syria’s self-appointed President Ahmad al-Sharaa – a former Al-Qaeda and ISIS official.
“The new president of Syria is working very hard to do a good job. He’s a tough cookie. [But] you’re not going to get a choir boy to lead Syria,” Trump said on Monday.
Trump has reportedly been urging Netanyahu in recent weeks to take a less aggressive stance toward Syria.
“We’ve never had a friend like President Trump in the White House. You can judge that not merely by the frequency of our meetings, but by the content and the intensity. I think Israel is very blessed to have President Trump leading the US,” Netanyahu said during the press conference with Trump.
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