US draws up plans to use 'mother of all bombs' on Iran sites if strikes resume

The United States has drawn up contingency plans that could see its largest non-nuclear bomb, the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast, known as the "mother of all bombs", used against Iranian energy and nuclear sites if President Donald Trump orders strikes to resume, according to reports published on Thursday, October 15, 2026. The reports, first carried by US broadcasters citing officials, say the White House and the Pentagon prepared the options, but that the president has not made a decision. A White House spokesperson declined to discuss what the spokesperson called sensitive military plans that may or may not exist, and said the president keeps all options on the table to ensure Iran never has a nuclear weapon.

The report lands at a tense point in the conflict between the United States and Iran. Fighting has paused, but the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and blockaded, and talks to restart nuclear negotiations have not moved forward. Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said Tehran had received the US response to its proposed seven-day plan to restart nuclear talks and was reviewing it. Leaking strike options at such a moment can be read as a message to Tehran that Washington is willing to escalate if diplomacy fails.

Military experts quoted in the coverage doubt the bomb would achieve much against Iran's most important targets. The weapon is built to flatten what sits on the surface: buildings, cave mouths and troop positions over a wide area. It is not designed to bore deep into rock, which is where Iran keeps its most sensitive nuclear work. Officials cited in the reports also questioned whether such strikes would deliver more than a show of force.

Iran's leaders have answered with defiance. President Masoud Pezeshkian said bombs and missiles cannot force a nation to surrender. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Tehran would combine its military strength with negotiations to press its demands. Iran's army chief said the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until those demands are met, and a security adviser to the Revolutionary Guards warned that Iran could capture US troops if Washington launched a ground attack. Trump has said he has no plans to send ground troops into Iran.

For India, which buys much of its oil and gas from the Gulf, any return to bombing would prolong the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz and keep energy prices and shipping costs high, while also putting at risk the large Indian community working in Gulf states.

Short-term: The report raises pressure on Tehran as it weighs the US reply on restarting nuclear talks. It also adds to uncertainty for oil markets and Gulf shipping, which already face a closed strait and a US blockade. With Trump's own pledge not to resume strikes before November 3, any decision is unlikely before the midterm vote.

Long-term: If strikes resume and the bomb fails to reach deeply buried facilities, the US could face a longer conflict without destroying Iran's nuclear capability. If the threat helps push Iran back to talks, it could open a path to reopening the strait. Either way, the episode shows that both sides are preparing for the possibility that diplomacy fails.

Who is affected: Iran's government and people, especially those near energy and nuclear sites; US forces in the region; Gulf states and their large foreign workforces; and oil-importing countries, including India, that depend on traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Questions and Answers