- Netanyahu will ask Trump for approval to strike Iran's missile program.
- Israeli intelligence warns Iran is rapidly rebuilding missile production.
- Iran's missile arsenal is now seen as a more immediate threat than its nuclear program.
- A previous Iranian missile barrage proved extremely costly and difficult to defend against.
- The decision risks dragging U.S. troops in the region into a wider war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is preparing to ask President Donald Trump for a green light to launch new military strikes against Iran, targeting its rapidly reconstituting ballistic missile program. According to sources familiar with the plans, Netanyahu will present the case during a meeting tentatively scheduled for December 29 at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. This urgent briefing stems from Israeli intelligence indicating Iran is rebuilding production facilities damaged in last June’s war, a move Jerusalem claims could soon see Tehran producing thousands of new missiles annually.
The upcoming meeting signals a potential dangerous new chapter in the long-running shadow war between Israel and Iran. This follows the intense 12-day conflict in June, a joint U.S.-Israeli operation dubbed "Midnight Hammer" that targeted Iran’s nuclear enrichment sites. While the White House declared that operation "totally obliterated" Iran’s nuclear capabilities, the focus has now sharply shifted. Israeli officials state that Iran’s ballistic missile rebuild is a more immediate threat than its nuclear reconstitution.
"The nuclear weapons program is very concerning. There’s an attempt to reconstitute," an Israeli source told NBC News. However, they added, "It’s not that immediate." The immediate fear in Jerusalem is of missile factories humming back to life. Israeli assessments warn that without intervention, Iran could ramp up production to an alarming 3,000 ballistic missiles per year.
The lingering threat of Iranian retaliation
Israel’s urgency is fueled by the painful lessons of the June war. When attacked, Iran responded with a massive barrage of more than 500 ballistic missiles. These strikes hit multiple Israeli military bases, including facilities housing elite intelligence units, and required a frantic and costly defense. Israel and the U.S. fired approximately 200 interceptors at a total cost of $1.5 billion to blunt the attack, a rate of defense that would be unsustainable against a larger arsenal.
This experience has cemented a clear view in Israeli security circles. As one former Israeli official explained, "There is no real question after the last conflict that we can gain aerial superiority and can do far more damage to Iran than Iran can do to Israel. But the threat of the missiles is very real, and we weren’t able to prevent them all last time." A larger missile stockpile not only threatens Israeli cities but, officials argue, would also provide a protective shield for Iran to more quickly rebuild its nuclear program.
A high-stakes decision for Trump
Netanyahu is expected to lay out a menu of military options for the American president, mirroring a previous presentation in the Oval Office. These options will likely range from unilateral Israeli action to a full-scale joint U.S. operation. The Israeli leader will argue that Iran’s expanding missile capability poses a direct threat to U.S. interests and regional stability, not just to Israel.
President Trump’s response remains unpredictable. He has publicly boasted about destroying the Iranian nuclear threat and bringing "peace to the Middle East." Yet, he has also warned Iran, stating, "if they do want to come back without a deal, then we’re going to obliterate that one, too." His decision will be weighed against other global tensions and the fragile ceasefire in Gaza, where U.S. and Israeli officials are already at odds over implementation.
The White House, through spokesperson Anna Kelly, has reiterated Trump’s stance, saying, "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." This meeting, however, is not about a nuclear weapon today, but about the conventional missiles that could enable one tomorrow.
With nearly 50,000 U.S. troops in the Middle East within range of Iranian missiles, a decision at Mar-a-Lago could unleash a conflict that would engulf the region, threaten American lives, and reshape the global order... all before the New Year arrives.
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