On Monday, December 29, President Donald Trump publicly expressed support for a potential Israeli strike on Iran if Tehran continues—according to the United States and Israel—to expand its ballistic missile program. Speaking at the Mar-a-Lago resort alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he said that with regard to Iran’s nuclear program “the response will be unconditional.” According to Trump, “the second option is to act immediately,” signaling his backing for an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, which was already severely damaged during the 12-day war earlier this year.
Trump’s remarks came amid growing concern among Israeli officials that Iran is accelerating the production of ballistic missiles. According to their assessments, Tehran has also conducted new missile tests. Over the weekend, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the country was in a state of war with the United States and Israel, as well as with Europe in a broader sense. A week earlier, Netanyahu warned that any hostile moves by Iran would trigger a harsh response from Israel.
Israel, according to existing assessments, believes that Iran possesses around 2,000 heavy ballistic missiles. As the Associated Press reported in late September, an analysis of satellite imagery suggests that Iran likely conducted missile tests at the Imam Khomeini Spaceport.
“I hear that Iran is trying to rebuild, and if that is the case, we will have to stop them again,” Trump said on Monday. “We will strike them decisively. But hopefully that is not happening.”
Earlier this year, the United States held five rounds of talks with an Iranian delegation over Tehran’s expanding nuclear program. The negotiations failed to produce an agreement, and in mid-June Israel launched strikes on Iranian territory, killing military commanders and nuclear scientists and damaging production facilities and launch sites. Several days later, US armed forces joined the operation, carrying out strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in Isfahan, Natanz, and Fordow. In early July, the Pentagon said Iran’s nuclear program had been set back by “one to two years.”
More recently, however, Trump has signaled that he does not rule out a resumption of dialogue with Iran. “We are ready when you are ready, and it will be the best decision Iran has ever made, and it will happen,” he said in October.