Biden was ready to take 'draconian measures' against Israel before Iran attack, ex-aide reveals
Former top national security official Brett McGurk said the Biden administration was considering “pretty draconian measures against Israel” in April 2024, including potentially cutting off weapons, as then-President Biden faced political pressure over the war in Gaza. But McGurk told @margbrennan the focus quickly shifted as intelligence showed Iran was preparing a massive missile and drone attack against Israel.
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) October 4, 2026
WASHINGTON, DC: Ex-Biden official Brett McGurk, in a recent television interview, spoke on several global affairs subjects sensitive to the United States. Notably, McGurk has served as Middle East adviser to four American presidents.
McGurk talked about multiple topics, including how former President Joe Biden was once ready to take stringent action against Israel.
Former Middle East adviser says Biden was 'fed up' with Netanyahu
Appearing on CBS News’ ‘Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan’ on Sunday, October 4, Brett McGurk, who served as a top Middle East adviser to former President Joe Biden, revealed that Biden didn’t like how Israel was operating in Gaza and was even ready to take draconian measures against the US’s Middle East ally.
The former longtime foreign policy aide to Biden is now a CNN contributor.
McGurk revealed that Biden was on the verge of taking the strictest action after an Israeli military drone strike killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in the Gaza Strip in April 2024, before an intelligence briefing stopped him from doing so.
A US intelligence briefing warned that Iran was about to launch an "unprecedented" aerial attack on Israel, preventing Biden from moving forward with his plans.
McGurk described Biden as "fed up" with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of the war in Gaza.
"At that moment, if not for that impending missile attack, which we then had to deploy military forces … I think we would have taken some pretty draconian measures against Israel," he said, adding that cutting off US weapons to Israel "was very much on the table."
According to McGurk, the US and its Arab and European allies saved Israel from Iran’s planned attack, which apparently included 120 ballistic missiles, 170 drones and 30 cruise missiles that were "all launched to land at the same time."
Biden warned Netanyahu the US could stop weapons supply
In his upcoming book, 'Brink', releasing on Tuesday, McGurk reveals a tense exchange between Biden and Netanyahu, in which the former president threatened to end the weapons supply.
In 2024, Israel said it believed that more than 130 hostages were remaining in Gaza, and the H***s-run Gaza Health Ministry put the Palestinian death toll at about 34,000.
"You think I'm Santa Claus? No Santa in Israel, pal," McGurk quoted Biden as telling Netanyahu during a heated exchange between the two leaders.
Biden's handling of the Israel-H***s war has drawn years of scrutiny — including from within his own party.
During the 2024 presidential campaign, the Biden administration faced intense pressure to stop military aid to Israel given the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
