US military draws up plans to hit Iran's nuclear sites with the 'Mother of All Bombs' if Trump orders a strike
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.A GBU-43/B MOAB — the military's most powerful non-nuclear weapon — which Pentagon planners have proposed deploying against Iran's suspected underground nuclear facility at Pickaxe Mountain.A GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb — the so-called "mother of all bombs" — which CNN reports the US military has drawn up plans to drop on Iran's nuclear sites.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.
Trump has directed the military to prepare additional strike packages — including possible use of the GBU-43/B MOAB, the largest non-nuclear bomb in the US arsenal — against Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear sites, with plans that could be activated before or after November's midterm elections. The escalation comes as the US-Iran war, which began in February, has slowed to an impasse since a June ceasefire collapsed, and Trump's approval ratings slide ahead of the vote. No decision to carry out the strikes has been made, and the White House said Trump "keeps all options on the table."
One specific target is Pickaxe Mountain, a suspected underground nuclear facility in Isfahan province where the US and Israel believe Tehran has stored components of its nuclear programme.
Officials have reportedly questioned whether the MOAB would work — it is reportedly "definitely not designed as a deep penetration warhead" and cannot pierce the granite protecting buried sites.
The bomb's real value may reportedly be psychological, with concern that Trump feels "almost compelled to do something" despite lacking the right munitions to destroy the deepest targets.
