Key Biden aide recalls "draconian measures" being considered against Israel

President Joe Biden was connected the verge of taking "draconian measures" aft an Israeli subject drone onslaught killed seven World Central Kitchen assistance workers successful the Gaza Strip successful April 2024, but U.S. quality that Iran was astir to motorboat an "unprecedented" aerial onslaught connected Israel prevented Biden from moving forward, according to Brett McGurk, a apical Middle East advisor to 4 presidents. 

In an interrogation with "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" taped Thursday, McGurk described Biden arsenic "fed up" with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of the warfare successful Gaza.

"At that moment, if not for that impending rocket attack, which we past had to deploy subject forces … I deliberation we would person taken immoderate beauteous draconian measures against Israel," helium said, adding that cutting disconnected U.S. weapons to Israel "was precise overmuch connected the table." 

The U.S. and its Arab and European partners helped support Israel from the Iranian attack, which McGurk said included 120 ballistic missiles, 170 drones and 30 cruise missiles that were "all launched to onshore astatine the aforesaid time." 

In his caller memoir titled "Brink," which is acceptable to beryllium published Tuesday, McGurk recalled a tense speech betwixt Biden and Netanyahu astir that clip successful which the U.S. person warned the premier curate helium could extremity the weapons supply. At the time, the Israeli authorities said it believed determination were much than 130 hostages successful Gaza and astir 34,000 Gazan deaths, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health. 

"You deliberation I'm Santa Claus? No Santa successful Israel, pal," McGurk quotes Biden arsenic saying.

In McGurk's interrogation with CBS News, the longtime overseas argumentation adjutant recounted the Biden administration's archetypal absorption to Hamas' Oct. 7 panic onslaught connected Israel, its handling of Israel's warfare against Hamas successful Gaza, the efforts to unafraid an Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage merchandise deal, the relation of Iran and — starting years earlier — a long-sought propulsion to normalize relations betwixt Israel and Saudi Arabia.

McGurk is nary longer moving with the Bidens and is presently a CNN contributor. 

McGurk: "If you conscionable halt American enactment for Israel, that is not going to extremity the crisis"

Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas warfare has drawn years of scrutiny — including from wrong his ain party. During the 2024 statesmanlike campaign, the medication faced intense pressure to halt subject assistance to Israel amid the humanitarian situation successful Gaza. 

The U.S. is the largest weapons supplier to Israel, and provides billions successful aid. A 2023 State Department review of Israel's behaviour recovered that it was "reasonable to assess" that Israeli information forces person utilized U.S.-made weapons successful ways "inconsistent with" planetary humanitarian instrumentality obligations. Casualties successful Gaza, "including precocious levels of civilian casualties," raised "substantial questions arsenic to whether the IDF is using" U.S.-made weapons "effectively successful each cases," the study said. 

Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen told "Face the Nation" successful November 2024 that Biden didn't usage U.S. leverage effectively, arguing helium sent Israel "more bombs and much money" aft Netaynahu disregarded his requests, and pointed to U.S. laws blocking arms shipments to subject units that violated quality rights.

Since then, debates implicit the aboriginal of U.S.-Israel relations person continued to rage. Some of the disapproval that the Biden medication was not beardown capable successful its effect to Israeli actions successful Gaza has been directed astatine McGurk, who was the White House National Security Council's coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa and 1 of his astir influential advisers.

McGurk noted that the Biden medication did pause immoderate weapons transfers to Israel, including 2,000-pound bombs but ne'er instituted a weapons halt. He believes immoderate of the calls to spell further whitethorn not person been effective.

"Israel besides has 1 of the largest arms industries successful the world, truthful the thought that had Biden gone further connected a measurement connected that course, it would person stopped the war, I conscionable deliberation the grounds does not enactment that," McGurk said. 

McGurk besides argued that exerting excessively overmuch nationalist unit connected Israel could person hardened Hamas' stance, yet mounting backmost the negotiations to extremity the warfare successful Gaza and merchandise the hostages.

"I travel backmost to the question: How bash you extremity this crisis?" helium said. "And I deliberation the grounds shows: If you conscionable halt American enactment for Israel, that is not going to extremity the crisis, it's going to marque it worse."

At the aforesaid clip arsenic the Israel-Hamas war, attacks connected U.S. forces by Iranian-backed proxy groups surged. McGurk pushed Biden to punish Iran successful an effort to deter the attacks, and expressed immoderate vexation with Biden medication colleagues who were wary of striking Iranian officials successful response.

What would've happened if Iran "made a dash" toward weapons-grade uranium

McGurk said portion of Biden's extremity was to forestall the outbreak of a broader determination war. Meanwhile, periodic aerial attacks betwixt Iran and Israel continued.

In December 2024, McGurk traveled to Israel with nationalist information advisor Jake Sullivan arsenic they worked toward a woody with Hamas to merchandise the remaining Israeli hostages. 

During the visit, according to McGurk, Netanyahu talked astir taking retired atomic sites successful Iran, including astatine Fordow, a installation built wrong a upland that processed and stored highly enriched uranium. Fordow was 1 of the 3 Iranian atomic sites that President Trump ordered to beryllium bombed  in June 2025, 8 months earlier the Trump medication and Israeli forces launched a wider warfare against Iran.

McGurk said the Biden medication was acrophobic successful precocious 2024 that Iran "might marque a dash" toward making weapons-grade uranium, and officials were unfastened to carrying retired strikes if determination were grounds obtained that showed Iran was making a bomb. Netanyahu urged the US not to hold for that step. Iran had been gathering up a stockpile of 60%-enriched uranium, which is simply a abbreviated measurement from the worldly required to physique a bomb.

"We really had a principals committee gathering — that's everybody astir the array — what would we bash if we spot that?" McGurk said. "And arsenic I recall, unanimity on: We would bash the onslaught successful Fordow. We didn't spot that. We sent a connection to Iran, don't adjacent deliberation astir it. But yet Netanyahu was intelligibly contemplating that." 

Hamas and Israel struck a ceasefire deal that led to the merchandise of immoderate hostages a period aft that, conscionable days earlier President Trump was inaugurated and the Biden nationalist information squad near the White House. McGurk said helium and Mr. Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff "agreed we're going to enactment successful lockstep." He described however the Biden and Trump teams enactment unit connected some Hamas and Israel.

Hamas released the past surviving hostages successful October 2025, arsenic portion of different ceasefire agreement.

U.S. saw nary "warning oregon indicator" of Oct. 7 attack

The circumstances starring up to the Oct. 7 onslaught person drawn renewed attraction successful caller weeks, arsenic The New York Times, The Atlantic and the Israeli paper Haaretz study connected warnings that officials successful Egypt and the United Arab Emirates allegedly delivered to Israel that Hamas was readying a large attack. Netanyahu has strongly denied that determination were immoderate warnings, but his opponents successful Israel's predetermination aboriginal this month person expressed outrage.

CBS has confirmed via a erstwhile US authoritative and a diplomatic root that Emirati Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan, President of the UAE, did stock a informing with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu successful the weeks starring up to the attack. The UAE had learned that Hamas person Yahya Sinwar was preparing a large onslaught but did not person circumstantial quality specified arsenic a date, clip oregon location. 

McGurk told CBS News the U.S. had nary quality that could person warned astir Hamas' Oct. 7 attack. 

"We did not person thing successful our strategy that would person been a informing and indicator," helium said. "No U.S. quality of a informing oregon indicator."  

But helium said Israel should motorboat an authoritative enquiry that probes its ain information constitution and governmental leadership, overmuch similar the U.S. did aft the 9/11 attacks. 

"I deliberation they had an presumption that was profoundly ingrained that Hamas was deterred, assuaged, and was not astir to bash thing monolithic connected immoderate standard similar this," McGurk said. "I deliberation that was a mendacious presumption successful their system, a nonaccomplishment of imagination, and it was tragic."

McGurk connected the Biden-MBS fist bump: "I encouraged the president to conscionable shingle his hand"

Hours earlier the Oct. 7 2023 attack, McGurk said helium met with the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the U.S., Princess Reema Bandar,  to sermon a antithetic contented — a imaginable pathway for Israel and Saudi Arabia to normalize relations. 

MB SUGGESTIONED INSERT: Just weeks prior, Prime Minister Netanyahu had stood astatine the UN General Assembly successful New York and predicted a caller Middle East to see normalization betwixt the Jewish State and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, birthplace of Islam.

"I judge that we are astatine the cusp of an adjacent much melodramatic breakthrough: an historical bid with Saudi Arabia," Netanyahu said.

The thought of Saudi Arabia establishing ceremonial diplomatic ties with Israel had been floated to McGurk by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman astir 2 years earlier, successful January 2021, soon aft Biden took office, McGurk said, a woody that would person included a pathway to a Palestinian bid agreement. McGurk said helium reported that bonzer connection backmost to the President, but the U.S. did not enactment connected it.

Biden was skeptical of Saudi Arabia, vowing successful the 2020 Democratic primaries to dainty the kingdom arsenic a "pariah" owed to U.S. quality indicating that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was linked to the execution of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

McGurk besides explained that Biden did not privation to absorption connected the Middle East, and lone reached retired to the Gulf States aft the chaotic August 2021 U.S. exit from Afghanistan caused the exigency request for the U.S. to inquire those governments to instrumentality successful Afghan allies fleeing the Taliban. The U.S. needed different favour successful 2022 erstwhile Russia invaded Ukraine, and turned again to the Gulf states, specifically Saudi Arabia, asking them to pump much lipid to alleviate a spike successful prices.

Rebuilding frayed relations due to the fact that a necessity for U.S. nationalist security. McGurk said it was a "mistake" that medication officials did not prosecute with Saudi Arabia much often aboriginal successful Biden's term. He convinced him to sojourn successful 2022.

McGurk offered uncommon disapproval of Biden implicit his 2022 sojourn to Saudi Arabia, which came during a planetary spike successful vigor prices. He recounts that for 18 minutes Air Force One sat connected the tarmac successful the Kingdom arsenic Biden argued with aides implicit however helium would greet the Crown Price astatine his palace.

Rather than shaking bin Salman's hand, Biden famously gave him a fist bump.

"He was acrophobic astir the optics and the imagery," McGurk told CBS News, and "I encouraged the president to conscionable shingle his hand." He aboriginal said: "We were asking immoderate precise hard things to the Saudis that we needed for our halfway interests, and truthful I deliberation the fist bump acceptable america back."

By 2023, the U.S., Israel and Saudi Arabia were moving toward a normalization agreement, a analyzable woody that apt would person progressive the U.S. offering Saudi Arabia a civilian atomic programme and Israel agreeing to concessions astir the Palestinian territories. The Oct. 7 onslaught derailed those talks — and President Biden often openly theorized that Hamas whitethorn person sought to forestall normalization.

McGurk said helium "never saw thing to necktie a nonstop connection," but didn't regularisation retired that idea.

"Hamas, of course, does not admit Israel, wants to destruct Israel, and I would not beryllium amazed if 1 of the motivations connected October 7th was to sound this docket disconnected the table," McGurk said, calling the imaginable of Saudi-Israeli normalization "one of the biggest deals since the Cold War."

President Trump has revived the presumption of that U.S.-Saudi arrangement, including the pledge to make a civilian atomic program. However, the existent Israel authorities has refused to sermon a Palestinian authorities successful the aftermath of Oct 7 attacks, and the civilian decease toll successful Gaza from the warfare makes normalization much politically hard for Saudi leaders.