Iran’s weekend barrage of hundreds of missiles and drones against Israel was repelled. But the political fallout is still landing in Washington, where a $95 billion foreign aid package sits stalled in Congress. President Biden used a Wall Street Journal op-ed and a public plea on Friday to break the logjam, warning that without fresh supplies of interceptors and munitions, Israel’s air defenses could be depleted.
The stakes are not theoretical. Biden wrote that it is “unthinkable” the U.S. would stand by if Israel’s defenses were weakened and Iran was able to carry out the destruction it intended. His language was blunt: replenish the stockpiles now, or risk a scenario where the United States itself could be drawn into a wider war. “If Iran succeeds in significantly escalating its assault on Israel, the US could be drawn in,” Biden said.
Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin echoed the urgency. He told lawmakers the aid package is needed to provide Israel with air defense interceptors, munitions, and other critical equipment. Without it, the calculus on the ground changes. Iran launched its attack in retaliation for a deadly Israeli bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus earlier this month. That cycle of strike and counterstrike is exactly what the administration is trying to break with a resupply.
The legislation covers more than Israel. It includes billions for Ukraine, which is running low on artillery and air defense systems as Russia grinds forward. Biden framed both conflicts as connected: two U.S. partners that can defend themselves but depend on American weaponry to do it. “Both Israel and Ukraine can defend themselves, but they depend on American assistance, including weaponry, to do it,” he wrote.
On Capitol Hill, the bill has been stuck for months. Conservative Republicans have balked at the price tag and demanded border security measures be attached. The White House has refused to tie the two. Now, with Iran’s direct attack on Israeli soil—the first of its kind—the political pressure has shifted. The question is whether the shock of Sunday’s aerial assault is enough to break the impasse.
There is another layer. The international community has intensified appeals to the U.S. and other Western nations to condition financial support for Israel on an increased flow of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. More than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli military campaign that followed Hamas’s October 7 attack, according to Gaza health officials. That humanitarian crisis is not part of the $95 billion bill, but it shadows every debate about sending more weapons.
Biden’s op-ed did not address those conditions. He argued the immediate priority is stopping Iran. “We can make that outcome less likely by replenishing Israel’s air defenses and providing military aid now, so its defenses can remain fully stocked and ready,” he wrote.
The clock is ticking. Iran has signaled it considers its retaliation complete, but Israeli military officials have said they will respond. If they do, Iran could strike again. Each exchange eats through ammunition. The Pentagon has been moving assets into the region, but those are stopgaps. The real solution, Austin and Biden argue, is a vote.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has not scheduled a vote on the Senate-passed bill. He has floated breaking it into separate pieces—one for Israel, one for Ukraine, one for Indo-Pacific allies. The White House opposes that approach. The standoff continues. What changes is the backdrop: a direct Iranian attack, a U.S. president warning of American involvement, and an ally running low on the very shells and interceptors that saved Tel Aviv from devastation last weekend.
