Israel’s ambassador to the United States said Sunday that growing unrest inside Iran could ultimately lead to the collapse of the Islamic Republic, arguing that the Iranian people themselves may rise up against the regime.

Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Ambassador Michael Leiter suggested that any meaningful change on the ground would need to come from within Iran. “I think that we need boots on the ground, but they have got to be Iranian boots, and I think they’re coming,” Leiter said.

He pointed to recent unrest as a sign of deeper dissatisfaction among the population, saying, “probably it’s going to take place, because the Iranian people have had enough. They tried to raise up last month. They were brutally put down.”

Leiter compared the current situation to past historical upheavals, noting that major regime changes often come unexpectedly. “There’s a point of combustion. Look, nobody knew when the Soviet Union would collapse. Nobody knew when the Romanians would turn their guns against their Ceausescu government. But it happened at some point. And if we degrade them enough, the people of Iran are going to say we have had enough and we want a different regime.”

He emphasized that the current focus should remain on weakening Iran’s leadership to the point where it can no longer maintain control. “what we have to focus on now is degrading [Iran] to the point where they have no power left in this regime. Hopefully, that will trigger this combustion point where the people are able to take charge of their own lives. Our focus has to be on degrading this regime to the point where they no longer pose a threat to us, to the region and to the world.”

Leiter also warned about the dangers posed by Iran’s military capabilities and regional influence, stressing the urgency of preventing further escalation. “we cannot allow this regime to move forward with nuclear weapons, intercontinental ballistic missiles, and terrorists spreading throughout the region,” he said.

He concluded by underscoring the broader threat posed by Iran’s leadership, adding that “we cannot live anymore with a country that is malign, that has intent on destroying us, that declares it’s going to destroy us all the time and is now firing ballistic missiles into all of its neighbors. This has to stop.”

{Matzav.com}