What is the ‘Mother of All Bombs’ US could use in Iran?

What the report says

Al Jazeera reports that US military planners have considered using the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb, or MOAB, against Iran’s energy infrastructure and nuclear sites if President Donald Trump orders renewed combat operations. The report says the weapon is the largest non-nuclear bomb in the US arsenal and that the idea has raised concern because it could widen the conflict while not clearly advancing Washington’s stated goals.

The article explains that the MOAB is a very large high-explosive bomb designed to create a powerful surface blast. It was first developed in the early 2000s and was used once before, in Afghanistan in 2017, against an Islamic State cave and tunnel complex. Al Jazeera cites military experts who say the bomb can devastate exposed targets and surface structures, but is not built to penetrate deeply buried facilities in the way a bunker-buster weapon is.

According to the report, likely Iranian targets being discussed include heavily fortified sites such as Fordow and an underground facility at Pickaxe Mountain. However, specialists quoted by Al Jazeera say a MOAB strike would not guarantee destruction of such installations and could instead become a symbolic demonstration of force. The article also notes that deploying the weapon could be difficult in Iran’s terrain and would require suitable aircraft.

The broader significance is that any use of the MOAB would mark a major escalation and could trigger a strong Iranian response, including pressure on nearby states that host US forces. Al Jazeera frames the debate as one over whether the weapon would offer military value or mostly serve as political theatre.