Trump threatens Hamas and Iran after Netanyahu talks in Florida

Donald Trump has issued stark warnings to Hamas and Iran, vowing severe consequences if the Palestinian group does not disarm and threatening fresh US strikes if Tehran attempts to rebuild its nuclear programme.

The remarks came on Monday after Trump met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where the two discussed the fragile Gaza ceasefire, Iran’s nuclear ambitions and Hezbollah’s role in Lebanon.

Trump claimed Israel was fulfilling its obligations under the Gaza truce, despite near-daily Israeli strikes that have killed at least 400 people since the ceasefire began, and placed responsibility for delays squarely on Hamas.

“We talked about Hamas and we talked about disarmament, and they’re going to be given a very short period of time to disarm, and we’ll see how that works out,” Trump told reporters.“If they don’t disarm, as they agreed to do – they agreed to it – and then there’ll be hell to pay for them. And we don’t want that.”

Hamas did not immediately respond. The group has repeatedly said it will not surrender its weapons while Israeli occupation continues, though it has floated the idea of setting arms aside under a long-term truce lasting seven to 10 years.

Progress towards a second phase has stalled. Hamas has yet to return the body of one Israeli captive, while Israel has continued air strikes, restricted aid flows and delayed reopening the Rafah crossing with Egypt. Despite this, Trump blamed Hamas alone for the impasse.

Trump then turned to Iran, suggesting that Tehran may be trying to restore parts of its nuclear programme after US air strikes in June damaged three Iranian nuclear facilities.

“Now I hear that Iran is trying to build up again, and if they are, we’re going to have to knock them down,” he said. “We’ll knock them down. We’ll knock the hell out of them. But, hopefully, that’s not happening.”

He warned that if Iran resumed nuclear activities, the US would move “very quickly to eradicate that buildup”, with consequences “more powerful than the last time”.

“We know exactly where they’re going, what they’re doing, and I hope they’re not doing it, because we don’t want to waste fuel on a B-2,” Trump added, referring to the bomber used in the earlier strikes. “It’s a 37-hour trip both ways. I don’t want to waste a lot of fuel.”

Trump offered no evidence to support claims that Iran was rebuilding its nuclear infrastructure. He nevertheless declared the US and Israel “extremely victorious” and said that without US action, “you wouldn’t have had peace in the Middle East”.

Asked whether Washington would support Israeli strikes on Iran’s missile programme, Trump drew a distinction between missiles and nuclear facilities. “If they will continue with the missiles, yes. The nuclear? Fast. OK? One will be: Yes, absolutely. The other is: We’ll do it immediately.”

Iran has denied seeking nuclear weapons and has ruled out negotiations over its missile programme, which it considers central to its defence.