US Weighs MOAB Strike on Iran, CNN Reports

The United States military is evaluating the potential deployment of its largest non-nuclear bomb against Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear facilities if President Donald Trump decides to resume active combat in the stalled war.

According to officials familiar with the discussions, military planners have drawn up contingency plans involving the 21,000-pound GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB)—commonly known as the “Mother of All Bombs”—to break the current battlefield deadlock.

The political manoeuvring comes as President Trump seeks to bolster low approval ratings ahead of November’s midterm elections, where public dissatisfaction over the unpopular conflict and surging domestic fuel prices continues to weigh heavily on the Republican Party.

Despite the strategic planning, defence sources have raised significant doubts regarding the weapon’s tactical effectiveness against fortified targets, particularly Iran’s deeply buried underground nuclear complexes.

Experts familiar with the operational plans noted that while the massive conventional munition generates a widespread surface blast suitable for area clearance and psychological impact, its warhead lacks the deep-penetration capabilities required to breach subterranean bunkers.

Furthermore, military analysts have voiced sharp concerns over the high risk of widespread civilian casualties associated with deploying such a destructive payload.

The ongoing conflict—initiated in February through joint U.S.-Israeli strikes aimed at dismantling Iran’s nuclear infrastructure—has remained diplomatically stalled since the summer.

While Washington recently scaled back direct military sorties in favour of intensified economic sanctions, the inclusion of the MOAB in military options signals a potential escalation.

The U.S. military previously deployed the weapon in combat only once, using it in 2017 to collapse an Islamic State tunnel complex in Afghanistan.