Israeli officials view Iran’s missile production and air defense recovery as a more urgent threat than its nuclear efforts, which they believe were significantly damaged during U.S. and Israeli operations in June.
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is preparing to brief President Donald Trump on renewed military options against Iran, driven by Israeli assessments that Tehran is accelerating the reconstruction of its ballistic missile program following strikes earlier this year, according to U.S. and Israeli sources cited by NBC.
Netanyahu is expected to raise the issue during a planned meeting with Trump at the president’s Mar-a-Lago residence on Dec. 29. Israeli officials view Iran’s missile production and air defense recovery as a more urgent threat than its nuclear efforts, which they believe were significantly damaged during U.S. and Israeli operations in June.
According to people familiar with the plans, Netanyahu intends to argue that Iran’s expanding missile capabilities endanger not only Israel but also regional stability and U.S. interests. He is expected to present a range of options that could include Israeli action alone or varying degrees of U.S. involvement, similar to proposals shared with Trump ahead of the June strikes.
Those operations, known as Operation Midnight Hammer, involved extensive U.S. air and naval assets targeting Iranian nuclear facilities.
At the time, the White House said the campaign had eliminated Iran’s nuclear capacity. “The International Atomic Energy Agency and Iranian government corroborated the United States government’s assessment that Operation Midnight Hammer totally obliterated Iran’s nuclear capabilities,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said. “As President Trump has said, if Iran pursued a nuclear weapon, that site would be attacked and would be wiped out before they even got close.”
Israeli officials now assess that Iran is repairing damaged missile infrastructure and attempting to restore advanced air defense systems struck in Israeli operations in April and October 2024.
While there are concerns that Iran is also seeking to revive nuclear enrichment sites hit by U.S. bombers, Israeli officials believe missile production poses the most immediate danger.
Trump, asked this week about a possible meeting with Netanyahu, said discussions had not yet been formally scheduled, though Israeli officials have publicly confirmed the Dec. 29 date.
The Israeli government declined to comment on the substance of the expected talks, and Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not respond to requests for comment.
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