President Donald Trump warned Monday that the United States would launch new military strikes against Iran if the country attempts to rebuild its nuclear program, threatening to "knock the hell out of them" during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

"Now I hear that Iran is trying to build up again, and if they are we're going to have to knock them down," Trump told reporters. "We'll knock them down. We'll knock the hell out of them. But hopefully that's not happening."

The warning came six months after the United States bombed three Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan in June as part of what the administration described as a 12-day war with Iran. Trump claimed at the time that the strikes had "totally obliterated" key sites for Iran's nuclear program, though other assessments questioned the extent of the damage.

Trump said Monday that if Iran is working to restore its nuclear capabilities, the country may be using different locations than those targeted in June.

"I hope Iran is not trying to build up, as I've been reading, that they're building up weapons and other things, and if they are, they're not using the sites that we obliterated, but they're using possibly different sites," Trump said. "If they are, we're going to have no choice but very quickly to eradicate that buildup."

Trump draws distinction between missile and nuclear programs

The president drew a clear distinction between Iran's ballistic missile program and its nuclear weapons development, indicating that the nuclear program would trigger a faster and more forceful American response.

When asked whether the United States would support Israeli strikes on Iran's missile program, Trump said: "If they will continue with the missiles, yes. The nuclear? Fast. One will be, yes, absolutely. The other is, we'll do it immediately."

Trump added that the consequences for Iran rebuilding either program could be "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 said, referring to the stealth bomber used in the June strikes. "It's a 37-hour trip both ways. I don't want to waste a lot of fuel."

The president did not provide evidence to support his allegations that Iran is attempting to reconstitute its nuclear program. Iran has blocked international inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency from reviewing stocks of near bomb-grade uranium since the June strikes.

Iran says it is in 'full-fledged war' with West

Trump's comments came days after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran believes it is in a "full-fledged war" with the United States, Israel and some European nations.

"In my opinion, we are in a full-fledged war with America, Israel, and Europe; they do not want our country to stand on its feet," Pezeshkian said in an interview released on the website of Iran's leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "This war is worse than Iraq's war against us; if one understands it well, this war is far more complex and difficult than that war."

Pezeshkian vowed last month that Iran would rebuild its nuclear facilities "with greater strength" while maintaining that Iran does not want a nuclear weapon.

"Destroying buildings and factories will not create a problem for us, we will rebuild and with great strength," the Iranian president told state media.

Iran has long denied that its nuclear program is being used to develop weapons. Both Washington and Israel maintain that Tehran is pursuing nuclear weapons capability.

Iran's capital has been hit by a wave of protests in recent days after the local currency slumped to a record low, highlighting the strain of soaring inflation and mounting living costs on millions living in the sanctions-hit nation.

Trump urges Iran to make a deal

Trump encouraged Iran to negotiate with the United States rather than face additional military action.

"I heard Iran wants to make a deal. If they want to make a deal, that's much smarter," Trump said. "You know, they could have made a deal the last time, before we went through a big attack on them, and they decided not to make the deal. They wish they made that deal. So I think again, they should make a deal."

Iran agreed to cap its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief under a 2015 international agreement. Trump withdrew the United States from that deal three years later during his first term. Talks on a new accord had begun before the June airstrikes, which stalled diplomatic efforts.

Tehran has ruled out negotiating over its missile program, which is at the core of its defense strategy. During the June conflict, Iran fired hundreds of missiles in response to Israeli attacks that killed the country's top generals, several nuclear scientists and hundreds of civilians.

Iran responded to the U.S. strikes with a missile attack against an American airbase in Qatar, which did not result in any U.S. casualties. Trump announced a ceasefire to end the fighting shortly after the Iranian response.

Meeting focuses on Gaza and regional security

Monday's meeting between Trump and Netanyahu also addressed advancing the Gaza ceasefire into its second phase, which calls for Hamas to disarm and cede power to a multinational transitional force.

Trump warned that Hamas would face severe consequences if it fails to meet its obligations under the ceasefire agreement.

"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 said. "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."

The president said Israel has been fulfilling its commitments under the ceasefire, despite Israeli forces launching near-daily strikes that have killed at least 400 Palestinians since the truce began in October.

Netanyahu described the Florida summit as a "very, very productive meeting" and announced that Trump would receive the Israel Prize, the country's highest civilian honor, for his work on peace negotiations in Gaza. It will be the first time the prize has been awarded to a non-Israeli.

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, who is close to Trump and visited Israel earlier this month, has warned that Iran is producing ballistic missiles "in very high numbers" and echoed Netanyahu's concerns about the threat they pose to the region.

"We cannot allow Iran to produce ballistic missiles because they could overwhelm the Iron Dome," Graham told The Jerusalem Post, referring to Israel's air defense system. "It's a major threat."

Netanyahu was the second foreign leader to meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago in recent days. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with the president on Sunday to discuss peace negotiations with Russia.