Trump is weighing unleashing the 'mother of all bombs' on Iran as midterm pressure mounts
Donald Trump, who told supporters at a midterm rally that government leakers "should be shot," claims a pre-strike intelligence leak forced him to delay Operation Midnight Hammer by two days.IRGC and Basij paramilitary forces parade through central Tehran. Pentagon planners warn the MOAB's vast blast radius raises serious civilian casualty concerns if deployed near populated Iranian energy sites.
US military planners have drawn up strike packages featuring the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb — the largest non-nuclear weapon in America's arsenal — with Iranian energy infrastructure and the suspected underground nuclear site at Pickaxe Mountain among the targets. Trump ordered the military to prepare the options, which he could activate before or after November's midterm elections should he decide to resume combat. Officials with knowledge of the planning have raised doubts about whether the MOAB, built for wide-area surface destruction, could actually penetrate the granite-shielded underground facilities it would be directed against. A White House official said Trump 'keeps all options on the table' to stop Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon.
The MOAB's primary value may reportedly be psychological — pressure on a regime 'unwilling to bend' to US demands.
Iran retains unprecedented influence over the Strait of Hormuz eight months into the conflict, with no negotiated settlement in sight.
Trump has reportedly 'put himself in a situation where he is almost compelled to do something' despite doubts about the weapon's effectiveness.
