US Military Reportedly Considers Using ‘Mother of All Bombs’ Against Iran

PTI, Oct 16, 2026, Washington: The US military is mulling the use of the largest non-nuclear bomb in its arsenal, called the ‘mother of all bombs,’ to target Iran’s energy infrastructure and nuclear sites, if approved by President Donald Trump, a report said.

The use of the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb (MOAB) will mark significant escalation in the war on Iran, which has now stretched into its eighth month, CNN reported. Trump told Newsmax on Thursday the US might launch another strike against Iran's nuclear facilities, including a heavily fortified site known as Pickaxe Mountain. Asked about reports that he was considering using the "mother of all bombs," possibly after the November 3 midterm elections, Trump said the weapon is not nuclear.

“It’s not nuclear at all, this is just an extremely large bomb. It’s like a tiny nuclear bomb. But the ‘Mother of All Bombs’ is one big bomb - but it’s not nuclear. I wouldn’t use nuclear, we don’t have to,” Trump said.

The MOAB, weighing approximately 21,600 pounds, was used in combat for the first time in April 2017, during Trump's first administration, against an Islamic State group's tunnel complex in Afghanistan.

Unlike the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, a bunker-busting bomb used against deeply buried targets, the MOAB is designed primarily to produce a massive surface blast. CNN reported that officials have questioned whether it could effectively destroy Iranian nuclear facilities buried deep underground.