WASHINGTON — Israeli officials are growing concerned that Iran is expanding production of its ballistic missile program, which was damaged by Israeli military strikes earlier this year, and are preparing to brief President Donald Trump on options to attack it again, according to a person with direct knowledge of the plans and four former U.S. officials briefed on the plans.
The sources said Israeli officials are also concerned about Iran rebuilding nuclear enrichment sites bombed by the United States in June. But they added that officials view Iran’s efforts to rebuild facilities where it produces ballistic missiles and repair crippled air defense systems as more pressing concerns.
Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are expected to meet later this month in Florida at the Mar-a-Lago presidential resort. The sources said that during that meeting, Netanyahu is expected to explain to Trump that Iran’s expansion of its ballistic missile program poses a threat that may require quick action.
They said part of his argument is expected to be that Iran’s actions pose risks not only to Israel but also to the broader region, including American interests. The sources said that the Israeli leader is expected to present Trump with options for the United States to join or assist in any new military operations.
When asked Thursday about meeting with Netanyahu on December 29, Trump told reporters: “We haven’t officially scheduled it, but he would like to see me.” Israeli officials announced a meeting on December 29.
The Israeli government refused to comment. The Iranian mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement, “The International Atomic Energy Agency and the Iranian government supported the US government’s assessment that Operation Midnight Hammer completely eliminated Iran’s nuclear capabilities.” “As President Trump has said, if Iran pursues a nuclear weapon, this site will be attacked and wiped out before they even get close.”
Israel’s plans to brief Trump on potential additional military strikes in Iran — and give him the option to join — come as the president considers launching military strikes in Venezuela, which would open a new war front for the United States, and as he touts his administration’s bombing campaign against Iran’s nuclear program and the success of negotiating a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
In an address to the nation on Wednesday, Trump told Americans that he had “destroyed the Iranian nuclear threat and ended the war in Gaza, bringing peace for the first time in 3,000 years to the Middle East.”
Israeli concerns about Iran come at a time when Tehran has expressed interest in resuming diplomatic talks with the United States with the aim of reducing its nuclear agreement, which may complicate the process of Israel’s rapprochement with Trump regarding new strikes.
Funding Iranian proxies in the region is also at the forefront of Israeli concerns, according to the person with direct knowledge of Israel’s plans.
This person said: “The nuclear weapons program is very worrying. There is an attempt to rebuild. It is not that fast.”
The US strikes in June against Iran, known as Operation Midnight Hammer, included more than 100 aircraft, submarines and seven B-2 bombers. Trump said they “destroyed” Iran’s nuclear enrichment sites, although some initial assessments indicated the damage may not have been as extensive as the president said.
At the same time, Israeli forces bombed several Iranian ballistic missile sites.
Israeli military strikes in April and October 2024 also destroyed all Iranian S-300 air defense systems, the most advanced system operated by the country, paving the way for manned flights into Iranian airspace months later by significantly reducing the threat to pilots.
Unlike strikes on Iran’s ballistic missile program, direct US military intervention was necessary to inflict significant damage to Iranian nuclear sites, because that would require US-made bombs weighing 30,000 pounds to penetrate the bunkers.
Last week, Trump hinted that he might be open to returning to talks with Iran, while also warning Tehran against trying to rebuild its missile or nuclear programs.
He said Iran “can try” to rebuild its ballistic missile program, but “it will take a long time to come back.”
“But if they want to go back without an agreement, we will erase that agreement, too,” Trump said. “You know, we can destroy their missiles very quickly, and we have great power.”
Before the strikes in June, the Israelis presented Trump with four options for military action, according to the person with direct knowledge of the Israeli plans. This person said that Israeli officials presented the options on the coffee table in the Oval Office. This person said that the first relates to Israel moving alone, the other involves limited American support, the third is the United States and Israel carrying out joint operations against Iran, and the fourth is the United States carrying out the operation alone. In the end, Trump decided to agree to a joint operation. The person with direct knowledge of Israeli plans suggested that Netanyahu may present Trump with a similar set of options during their meeting at Mar-a-Lago.
The fragile ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas is also expected to feature prominently in talks between Netanyahu and Trump, amid concerns that both sides will fail to take action to implement the next phase of the agreement.
Under the second phase of the agreement, Israel is supposed to withdraw its forces from Gaza, and an interim body will assume authority over the Palestinian Strip instead of Hamas. An international stabilization force is also supposed to be deployed in Gaza.
Two former Israeli officials said Trump may be less enthusiastic about new military action in Iran if disagreement continues between US and Israeli officials over Netanyahu’s approach to the ceasefire.
If unchecked, Iran’s ballistic missile production could rise to as many as 3,000 a year, according to a person with direct knowledge of Israel’s plans and former U.S. officials familiar with the plans.
One former Israeli official who discussed concerns with current Israeli officials said the threat of ballistic missiles, and how many of them the Iranians could use in an attack, is Israel’s most pressing concern.
“There is no real doubt after the recent conflict that we can achieve air superiority and we can inflict far greater damage to Iran than Iran can inflict on Israel,” the official said. “But the missile threat is very real, and we couldn’t stop them all last time.”
The person with direct knowledge of Israel’s plans and one of the former US officials familiar with the plans said a large quantity of ballistic missiles would help Iran better defend its nuclear enrichment sites. They said Israeli officials had the same concerns about Iran rebuilding its missile defense systems and financing and arming its proxies in the region, believing Tehran would then accelerate the reconfiguration of its nuclear program because it would be better able to defend its enrichment sites.
Correction (December 20, 2025, 3:30 p.m. ET): An earlier version of this article misstated the number of ballistic missiles Iran could produce. 3000 annually, not monthly.