'A hero': Trump hosted Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago and threatened Iran

Donald Trump received Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. The Israeli prime minister traveled to the United States to discuss the next steps of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the threat from Iran and the future of the Middle East. The Republican president referred to Netanyahu as "a hero" and made it clear that he would support Israel against Iran should the latter country continue to move forward with its nuclear programs.

After greeting each other in front of the cameras, Trump took some questions from the journalists present. One of them had to do with Iran and its possible nuclear rearmament, to which he responded sharply. "Now I hear that Iran is trying to build up again. And if they are, we’re going to have to knock them down. We’ll knock the hell out of them, but hopefully that’s not happening," he said.

On this past June 21, the Trump administration ordered a strike against Iran's three nuclear facilities, those of Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. "A full load of BOMBS was dropped on the main site, Fordow," Trump then expressed on his Truth Social account.

Back to the meeting with Netanyahu in Florida, the Republican added that he would support an Israeli strike should the Iranians insist on their ballistic missile or nuclear weapons programs: "If they continue with the missiles, yes. With the nukes, fast."

In addition, Trump again endorsed pardoning Netanyahu, who faces charges at home for bribery, breach of trust and fraud: "He’s a war-time prime minister who’s a hero. How do you not give a pardon? I think it’s a very hard thing not to do it. I spoke to the president (Isaac Herzog), and he tells me it’s on its way."

As for the military alliance between the two countries, the U.S. provides Israel with approximately $3.3 billion each year, which is used exclusively to purchase U.S. defense equipment, along with another $500 million annually for joint missile defense programs.

Following brief statements to the press, the two leaders had lunch together with their delegations. Trump was joined by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Netanyahu's visit comes just a day after the Republican president met with Volodymyr Zelensky, president of Ukraine.

Netanyahu to award Trump with the Israel Prize

During a subsequent press conference, Netanyahu announced that he would award Trump with the Israel Prize. This prize was created more than 70 years ago and is considered the Jewish state's highest cultural honor.

“We have decided to award the Israel Prize, which in almost our eighty years, we've never awarded it to a non Israeli. And we're going to award it this year to president Trump. This was announced formally over lunch by our minister of education who's responsible for the Israel Prize. It's going to be awarded to president Donald J. Trump for his tremendous contributions to Israel and the Jewish people,” said the Israeli prime minister.