The US military has drawn up new strike plans that include potentially using the so-called “mother of all bombs” to target Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear sites if President Donald Trump orders a resumption of combat operations before or after the midterm elections.
The plans, described to CNN by multiple US officials familiar with the matter, will involve the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb (MOAB).
MOAB, nicknamed the Mother of All Bombs, is the largest non-nuclear bomb in the US arsenal.
Trump has ordered the military to develop additional strike packages that include “a lot of energy infrastructure” and the potential use of a MOAB, one source told CNN. A second source said plans for striking Iranian nuclear sites, including Pickaxe Mountain, also explicitly call for using the weapon.
In recent months, Trump has repeatedly threatened to strike Pickaxe, where the US and Israel believe Tehran has stored components of its nuclear programme, even after pausing full combat operations earlier this year. He has said his goal is to ensure Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon.
Speaking on Newsmax on Thursday, Trump said: “It’s not nuclear at all, this is just an extremely large bomb. It’s like a tiny nuclear bomb. But the ‘Mother of All Bombs’ is one big bomb – but it’s not nuclear. I wouldn’t use nuclear; we don’t have to.”
If used, the bomb will have devastating effects but likely only at surface level. Its massive blast radius will also raise concerns about civilian casualties, particularly if it is used against infrastructure near populated areas and close to non-military sites.
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