Trump lines up 'mother of all bombs' to strike Iran's nuclear sites 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.Donald Trump, pictured with Kash Patel, has publicly pledged to hold off fresh strikes until after November's midterm elections, though some advisers privately doubt the promise will hold.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.
Pentagon planners have developed options for deploying the GBU-43/B MOAB — the military's most powerful non-nuclear weapon — against Iranian energy facilities and nuclear sites should Trump order a return to hostilities. Trump has instructed the military to build out additional strike packages aimed at "a lot of energy infrastructure," and one source confirmed that plans for the suspected underground nuclear facility at Pickaxe Mountain specifically incorporate the MOAB. The conflict, now more than six months old, has been at an impasse since a June interim peace deal fell apart, leaving Iran holding unprecedented sway over the Strait of Hormuz.
One source warned the MOAB is 'not designed as a deep penetration warhead' and may be used primarily for its 'psychological effects' rather than to destroy hardened sites.
At a rally in Kalispell, Montana, Trump told supporters the war will 'end very quickly' after the midterms, lamenting he killed so many Iranian leaders he no longer knows who to negotiate with.
Officials have questioned whether striking before a US withdrawal would allow Trump to 'declare victory and pull out' rather than achieve a genuine strategic objective.
