Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that even if Israel had more time to undermine the Iranian regime, the regime may not have fallen, while at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, behind closed doors.
"It's not that if we had continued for a few more days, the regime would have collapsed – because if that had been the assessment, we would have done it. A revolution like this needs to come from within," he said.
"We thought it was important to undermine the regime while we have the opportunity. The majority of the public in Iran is fed up with this tyranny. The regime, more than it fears Israel, fears its own people."
"We will need to deal with the Houthis as well, and ensure that the regime in Iran does not regain its strength," he also stated.
Although the Houthis have remained somewhat inactive during Israel's war with Iran, on Wednesday, the Israeli air force shot down a drone from Yemen prior to entering Israeli airspace.
Claiming victory in war with Iran
In a published statement from the cabinet meeting, Netanyahu claimed victory in the Israel-Iran war, saying that the military removed Iran's two immediate existential threats.
He also discussed the rehabilitation of the country following the war, saying, "The state's resources will be allocated, as we did during the corona crisis, which helped us emerge from that crisis as the first country in the world to recover."
He stressed that the assistance will be provided speedily, meaning "cutting through bureaucracy, which always complicates these processes. That is the mission, and I know you are committed to it."