‘That’s The Deal, Pal’: A New Book Claims Joe Biden Strong-Armed Netanyahu To Prevent All-Out War With Iran

Associated Press

Former President Joe Biden got tough with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the days after the Oct. 7 terror attacks, and may have averted all-out war with Iran at the time, according to a new book.

Brett McGurk, who was National Security Council Coordinator under Biden, documented the attempt to negotiate a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in his new book, “Brink: Inside the Race to Free the October 7th Hostages,” adapted for The Atlantic.

McGurk wrote that he feared Israel faced the “largest ballistic-missile attack in history” from Iran if a ceasefire with Hamas couldn’t be reached. Regional war would also be a major liability to Biden in the 2024 presidential race, and “Biden’s team wanted him to appear strong and in command, not captive to events.”

During an Oval Office scrum that included Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Biden asked, “What the f*ck am I telling this guy?” before a phone call with Netanyahu.

The advisors chimed in with their differing opinions before the Situation Room connected the call.

“Biden jumped in,” McGurk wrote. “’Bibi, man, what the f*ck are you doing?’ He gripped the phone tight. ‘You think I’m Santa Claus? No Santa in Israel, pal.’ When Netanyahu asked what he meant, Biden said he could cut off military aid to Israel with the snap of a finger, leaving the country on its own. Netanyahu retorted that Israel would defend itself even without the United States. (We later learned that he concluded from this call that we were cutting military supplies.)”

McGurk continued:

Returning to his prepared points, Biden made specific requests regarding humanitarian aid and opening additional crossings into northern Gaza. Netanyahu began to discuss Israel’s preliminary assessment of the strike on the aid workers, claiming that it was more complicated than what was being reported in the news — a tragic miscommunication.

Biden interrupted: “I don’t want to hear it, Bibi.” He said he’d help defend Israel against Iran, but then the U.S. would move immediately to end the war and free the hostages. “That’s the deal, pal.” He hung up abruptly. It was a short call.

“If not for the pending Iranian attack, the U.S. might have taken irreversible measures against Israel at this juncture,” McGurk wrote. “My own mind wrestled with whether this might have been a better course.”

Read The Atlantic article adapted from McGurk’s book, Brink: Inside the Race to Free the October 7th Hostages.

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