Brett McGurk, who served as National Security Council Coordinator under the Biden administration, lauded President Donald Trump and his NSC team with “extremely high marks” for their management of the escalating conflict with Iran.
McGurk’s comments came during an appearance on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” on Monday, just as a “total ceasefire” between Israel and Iran, announced by Trump, began to take effect.
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The commendation from a former official of a rival administration highlights a rare moment of bipartisan agreement amid heightened tensions in the Middle East. The conflict, which saw Israeli preemptive strikes on Iranian military and nuclear sites on June 12, had raised concerns of broader U.S. involvement.
“I said this crisis is now in the stage of beginning to recede,” McGurk stated, explaining the de-escalation process. He elaborated on the “escalation ladder,” noting, “The American strike was turn one. We were waiting for a turn two from Iran. You want to try to cabin it, put a ceiling on it there. That’s exactly what happened today.”
McGurk characterized Iran’s response strike, which included an attack on the Al Udeid U.S. Air Base in Qatar, as “not a real response. It was choreographed, telegraphed. Most of the missiles were defeated by both Qatari defenses, interestingly, and U.S. defenses.”
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President Trump had previously confirmed the Qatari base attack, thanking Iran for forewarning the U.S. and reporting no American casualties.
The former NSC coordinator attributed the receding conflict to a “flurry of backchannel diplomacy” that preceded the U.S. ordering the strike on Iran.
While predicting Israel would “continue to patrol Iranian airspace,” McGurk underscored a “deadline” for negotiations with Iran, with European nations poised to “snap back all international sanctions between now and October.”
“Look, bottom line, this is about the best place we can be. I give extremely high marks to this national security team and President Trump for managing this crisis and giving where we are, but now let’s follow through,” McGurk urged. He also saw an opportunity for broader diplomatic progress: “There’s a chance for diplomacy here, not only on the Iran side, but also in Gaza. Those talks are also going on backchannel. In Cairo, there’s a Hamas delegation there. Try to get that ceasefire in place, and you can come out of this in a place that is far better than we would have anticipated 10 nights ago.”
The announcement of the ceasefire by President Trump on Monday, followed by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s statement on X that military operations would continue until a 4 a.m. deadline, and subsequent reports of sirens sounding in Israel due to missile launches from Iran, underscore the delicate nature of the agreed-upon truce.
The Israeli Defense Forces also posted on X about the missile launches.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had indicated last Thursday that Trump would decide on potential U.S. involvement within two weeks. However, by Saturday evening, Trump took to Truth Social to declare a “very successful attack on the three nuclear sites in Iran,” setting the stage for the current de-escalation efforts.
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