Even before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented U.S. President Donald Trump and his team with newly gathered intelligence on Iran—focusing on its nuclear activity and, more urgently, the rehabilitation of its ballistic missile program threatening Israel—the U.S. president issued a series of significant security statements that Israeli officials in Tel Aviv had been waiting to hear.

“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 the hell out of them. But hopefully, that’s not happening,” Trump said.

When asked whether the U.S. would intervene if Tehran attempted to rebuild its ballistic missile arsenal or restart its nuclear program, Trump responded “yes” to the former and “immediately” to the latter.

In unusually direct language, Trump affirmed his backing for Israel, acknowledged the threat posed by Iran’s long-range, heavy and precision-guided missiles, and signaled awareness that China is likely backing Tehran, though he stopped short of naming it. He went as far as to publicly approve a planned Israeli operation aimed at weakening Iran’s capabilities.

His stance on the nuclear threat was even more forceful, vowing immediate U.S. intervention if Iran revives its program. According to current assessments, the missile threat is now seen as more pressing and advanced than Iran’s nuclear project.

Ali Shamkhani, senior advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, responded on X, declaring: “Under Iran’s defense doctrine, responses are set before threats materialize. Iran’s ‌missile capability⁩ and defense are not containable or permission-based. Any aggression will face an immediate ‌harsh response⁩ beyond its planners’ imagination.”

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