US could drop ‘mother of all bombs’ on Iran – CNN

The US military has developed new strike plans that include potentially using the so-called 'mother of all bombs' to target Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear sites, according to multiple US officials familiar with the matter.

Using the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb or MOAB, the largest non-nuclear bomb in the US arsenal, for the first time in the conflict with Iran would mark a notable escalation, even though there are doubts over how effective it would be in accomplishing any of Trump's stated strategic objectives or tipping the balance of the war.

The MOAB is a massive munition containing about 8,500kg of high explosives and weighs 9,800kg, making it as long as a small yacht at just over 9 metres. It is typically deployed from the Lockheed C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft because it cannot fit in a stealth bomber.

Military experts have raised concerns over the effectiveness of using the MOAB, with Brussels-based military expert Elijah Magnier stating that using the MOAB would not even guarantee the destruction of Iran's deeply buried underground nuclear installations and that such a strike would likely amount to little more than 'political theatre'.