Trump threatens to 'knock the hell' out of Iran if they build weapons

President Donald Trump on Monday appeared open to additional military action against Iran if the country attempts to build up its reserves of ballistic weapons and reestablish its nuclear program. However, he urged the country to negotiate.

"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, standing beside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"I heard Iran wants to make a deal. If they want to make a deal that's much smarter," the president continued.

Trump gaggled with reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida ahead of a meeting there with Netanyahu, which comes at a fraught time for the Middle East and amid heightened tensions between Israel and Iran.

NBC News reported earlier this month that Netanyahu and Israeli officials were becoming more concerned that Iran was attempting to ramp up its ballistic missile production — which had been damaged earlier this year by Israeli strikes — and reconstitute the nuclear enrichment sites the U.S. bombed in June.

"If they will continue with the missiles, yes. The nuclear, fast," Trump said when asked if he would support Israeli strikes on Iran. "One will be yes, absolutely, and the other we will do it immediately."

Gaza was also expected to be discussed by the two world leaders on Monday, Trump said, as the White House seeks to advance a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

The first phase of the agreement took effect in October and has mostly held. But a second phase — which would call on Hamas to disarm and require Israeli military forces to withdraw — has proven more challenging.

Netanyahu has said the second phase cannot begin until Hamas returns the remains of the final deceased Israeli hostage. Trump said on Monday that he hopes to proceed to the second phase "as quickly as we can. But there has to be a disarmament ... we have to disarm with Hamas."

Foreign policy has dominated Trump's schedule of late.

On Sunday, he hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Mar-a-Lago. The Trump administration is facilitating negotiations between Ukraine and Russia to try to bring an end to the multiyear conflict between the two nations. During the meeting, Zelenskyy reportedly had asked the U.S. for security guarantees for up to 50 years for Ukraine, though the current 20-point peace plan outlined guarantees for 15 years.

Trump also said he had a "very productive" call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, though he said a few "thorny issues" stand in the way of ending the war.

"We have a couple of issues that we're going to get resolved, hopefully, and if we get it resolved, you're going to have peace," Trump said.

In the short, wide-ranging press conference on Monday, Trump offered updates on his monthslong pressure campaign against Venezuela.

The president confirmed a U.S. strike on a drug loading facility in Venezuela, marking an escalation in his campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

"There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs .... So we hit all the boats, and now we hit the area," Trump said. "It's the implementation area, that's where they implement, and that is no longer around."

Trump has recently designated the Venezuelan government a "foreign terrorist organization," ordered a complete blockade on sanctioned oil tankers moving in and out of the country and has been targeting alleged Venezuelan drug boats.