President Trump gave gushing praise to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday — denying reported friction with his counterpart and vowing to “knock the hell out of” Iran if it seeks to redevelop its nuclear program.
“I hear that Iran is trying to build up again, and if they are, we’re gonna have to knock them down. We’ll knock them down. We’ll knock the hell out of them,” Trump said while welcoming Netanyahu to his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla.
“But hopefully that’s not happening. I heard Iran wants to make a deal. They want to make a deal that’s much smarter. You know, they could have made a deal the last time before we went through, you know, a big attack for them, and they said not to make a deal. They wish they made that deal.”
Trump hailed Netanyahu’s leadership during a press availability and even claimed he had secured from Israeli President Isaac Herzog an agreement to pardon the longtime leader to head off corruption allegations, saying that the Jewish state might not exist if it had different leadership.
“He’s a wartime prime minister who is a hero. How do you not give a pardon? … I spoke to the president, and he tells me it’s on its way,” Trump said.
Trump said that his relationship with Netanyahu was strong.
“I don’t think it could be better. We just want a big war together,” he said, referring to the 12-day conflict with Iran in June that targeted the country’s nuclear sites.
