The US military has developed contingency plans that could include using the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast weapon, commonly called the “Mother of All Bombs,” against targets in Iran if President Donald Trump orders a return to combat operations, officials familiar with the planning have said.
The potential targets described in the plans include Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear sites. The weapon is a very large conventional air-dropped bomb; it is not a nuclear weapon. Its possible inclusion in planning does not mean that a strike has been approved or scheduled.
A contingency, not an announced operation
The plans are described as options for a future scenario in which fighting resumes. No public order to use the weapon has been announced, and the reported planning leaves open whether the option would be selected if military action were renewed.
Any attack on energy or nuclear-related infrastructure would carry significant risks of escalation and could affect civilians as well as military capabilities. The distinction between a contingency plan and a decision to act is therefore important as tensions remain high.
The possibility of such a weapon being considered signals the scale of force military planners may evaluate, but the available information does not establish that the United States has decided to use it.
