While he said he does not believe Iran has expanded its nuclear capabilities, he repeated that the country "may be behaving badly," without giving specific details
Donald Trump. Pic/AFP
US President Donald Trump on Monday warned Iran of "very powerful" consequences, saying there are indications that Tehran may be trying to rebuild its ballistic missile programme at sites different from those targeted by US strikes earlier this year, even as he said the information is yet to be confirmed. While he said he does not believe Iran has expanded its nuclear capabilities, he repeated that the country "may be behaving badly," without giving specific details.
Speaking to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club while standing alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said, "I don't want to say it, but Iran may have been behaving badly. It hasn't been confirmed yet, but if it is, they know the consequences. The consequences will be powerful, maybe more powerful than last time... Iran should have made a deal last time, I had given them an option..."
Trump said he has been reading reports suggesting Iran could be rebuilding weapons infrastructure, but not at the locations previously hit by US forces. "I hope Iran is not trying to build up, as I've been reading, that they're building up weapons and other things," he said. "If they are, they're not using the sites that we obliterated, but they're using possibly different sites."
"If they are, we're going to have no choice but to very quickly eradicate that buildup. We know exactly where they're going, what they're doing, and I hope they're not doing it." He added, "This is just what we hear, usually, where there's smoke, there's fire."
Earlier this year, the US bombed three nuclear facilities in Iran in an operation Trump has repeatedly described as a major success that "obliterated" Iran's nuclear programme. However, Netanyahu has recently warned that Iran is again expanding its ballistic missile activities and is expected to press for tougher action during talks with Trump.
Ahead of the meeting, Trump was asked whether he would support the overthrow of the Iranian regime. He avoided a direct response, instead pointing to Iran's internal challenges. "I am not going to talk about the overthrow of a regime," Trump said. "They have got a lot of problems there. They have tremendous inflation. Their economy is no good, and the people aren't happy."
He further added, "Every time they have a riot, or whenever somebody forms a group, big or small, they start shooting people. They kill people. I have watched this for years, there is tremendous discontent." The remarks came as Trump and Netanyahu met at Mar-a-Lago to discuss the second phase of the Gaza peace plan and broader regional security concerns.
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