Trump Suggests He’ll Strike Iran Again If Military Buildup Continues

President Donald Trump warned Monday that the U.S. could hit Iran again if Tehran rebuilds its nuclear program, delivering the threat as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida for talks.

Trump’s comments follow U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear enrichment sites earlier this year, as the administration tries to keep a Gaza ceasefire from stalling and as Israeli officials voice renewed concern about Iran replenishing ballistic missile stockpiles, according to The Associated Press. (RELATED: Iran Attacks US Air Base In Qatar)

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

A plume of heavy smoke and fire rise over an oil refinery in southern Tehran, after it was hit in an overnight Israeli strike, on June 15, 2025. (Photo: ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 29: U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago club on December 29, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Men on a pro-leader demonstration in Tehran, in support of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, after the city’s student riots, 14th July 1999. The riots caused huge unrest between reformists and hardliners. (Photo: Kaveh Kazemi/Getty Images)

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R) meets Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Tehran 25 January 2001. Assad, on his first visit to the Islamic Republic since taking power six months ago, described the policies of the former US administration on the Middle East peace process as a failure. (Photo: ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump has insisted Iran’s nuclear capabilities were “completely and totally obliterated” by the June strikes, the AP reported. That claim has been a recurring refrain from Trump since the U.S. entered the conflict alongside Israel by targeting Iranian nuclear facilities, according to AP reporting and the AP’s published transcript of his June address.

Fox News also reported Monday that Trump warned Iran against rebuilding its nuclear program and said the U.S. and Israel had already destroyed it, adding that Tehran would be “much smarter” to pursue a deal.