Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu told senior Israel Defense Forces officers that Iran is increasingly worried Israel could bring about the collapse of its regime through economic pressure, and warned that Israel may ultimately move on its own to demilitarize the Gaza Strip if no outside party steps in.

Recordings aired Sunday evening revealed Netanyahu’s remarks during a briefing with top military leadership, in which he described growing concern inside Iran following recent developments.

“There is no doubt that by the end of this war, Iran is weaker than ever and Israel is stronger than ever,” he said. “But we know that we still face a challenge.”

He continued, “We saw that after the regime was struck and weakened, protests followed. And we see that the regime is very troubled by the possibility that we will collapse its economy, because it believes that could also bring down its rule.”

Referring to U.S. policy, Netanyahu said, “President Trump believes that through economic pressure he can also extract the nuclear material. That is all I can say in this forum.”

The prime minister also addressed the situation in Gaza, pointing to Israel’s current military positioning and the possibility of future action to dismantle hostile forces.

“We are holding a security zone inside enemy territory, in Gaza, more than 50% in terms of the ability to enter and begin dismantling it. If someone else dismantles it — all the better.”

He added that Israel has urged U.S. leadership to present an alternative, but is preparing for the likelihood that it will need to act independently.

“I don’t see that happening. I tell Trump and his people, ‘Please, bring it. Bring it.’ But if they do not, the task of dismantling the weapons and demilitarizing the Strip will fall on us. We need to choose the right time to do it,” he said.

{Matzav.com}