The Trump administration is considering a new round of military strikes against Iran, with American military planners reportedly including the massive GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB), widely known as the ‘Mother of All Bombs’, among the weapons available for a potential offensive. The development comes as tensions between Washington and Tehran intensify and the United States positions additional military forces across the Middle East.
The possible use of the MOAB has drawn particular attention because of its enormous destructive capacity. Although it is the largest conventional bomb in the US arsenal, it is not a nuclear weapon. Its potential deployment would nevertheless represent a significant escalation in the ongoing confrontation with Iran.
The discussion also comes around the 65th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s detonation of the Tsar Bomba, the most powerful nuclear weapon ever tested. The Soviet hydrogen bomb exploded over the Arctic archipelago of Novaya Zemlya on October 30, 1961, demonstrating the extraordinary destructive capabilities developed by Moscow during the Cold War.
The anniversary passed on October 30, 2026, amid renewed concerns about the possibility of another major conflict between the United States and Iran.
According to a CNN report published on October 14, the US military has developed additional strike plans that include the possible deployment of MOAB against Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear facilities.
The plans would require an order from President Donald Trump to resume major combat operations. US officials familiar with military planning discussions told CNN that potential targets include energy installations and nuclear-related facilities, including the suspected underground complex at Pickaxe Mountain.
The report indicated that the administration was considering several military options rather than committing to a specific operation. Trump has also instructed military planners to develop additional strike packages that could target a broader range of Iranian infrastructure.
The potential use of MOAB would mark its first deployment in the conflict with Iran. However, military officials and analysts have questioned whether the weapon would be effective against heavily fortified underground nuclear facilities.
The United States has significantly increased its military preparedness in the region. According to CNN’s October 25 report, American forces are positioned to begin potentially major operations against Iran within approximately 96 hours of receiving an order from Trump.
Two US officials told CNN that sufficient military assets had been deployed to support a large-scale operation. The preparations reportedly include repositioning personnel away from more vulnerable facilities, increasing air-defence capabilities and strengthening ammunition stocks.
Cargo aircraft have also arrived at American military facilities and partner bases in Israel, including Ovda and Nevatim, as well as locations in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The preparations suggest that Washington wants to maintain the ability to launch a major offensive without requiring a lengthy military mobilisation.
However, the deployment of additional forces does not mean that Trump has made a final decision to authorize another attack.
The Associated Press reported on October 29 that US officials had privately urged several Middle Eastern countries and regional allies to prepare for possible renewed strikes after the November 3 US midterm elections. The warnings reportedly included concerns about Iranian retaliation against energy installations and other critical infrastructure.
The GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb is the largest conventional air-delivered weapon in the US military’s arsenal.
Commonly called the Mother of All Bombs, or MOAB, it weighs approximately 21,000 pounds (9,525 kilograms) and contains around 18,700 pounds of high explosives.
Unlike conventional bombs that penetrate targets before exploding, MOAB is designed as an air-burst weapon. It detonates above the ground, generating an enormous pressure wave capable of destroying buildings, damaging surface infrastructure and affecting large areas.
The weapon uses GPS guidance and was developed to attack large-area targets, exposed military installations and cave or tunnel entrances. Its powerful blast can also damage structures and facilities that are not deeply buried underground.
However, its destructive power should not be confused with the penetrating capability of specialised bunker-busting weapons.
MOAB has been used in combat only once. On April 13, 2017, the US military dropped the weapon on an Islamic State tunnel and cave complex in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province.
The strike was intended to destroy an extensive network of tunnels used by Islamic State fighters.
Its potential use against Iran would be considerably different because several of the country’s suspected nuclear facilities are located deep underground and protected by layers of reinforced concrete and rock.
CNN reported that military planners have considered MOAB for targets including Pickaxe Mountain, but sources familiar with the planning expressed doubts about whether the weapon could penetrate sufficiently deep to destroy the underground installations.
President Trump has previously emphasized the distinction between conventional and nuclear weapons when discussing the bomb.
“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,” Trump said.
“I wouldn’t use nuclear, we don’t have to,” he added.
Despite Trump’s comparison, MOAB does not produce a nuclear explosion or radioactive fallout. Its destructive effect comes from conventional explosives and the resulting blast pressure.
## Previous US attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities
The potential deployment of MOAB follows the United States’ earlier use of specialised bunker-busting weapons against Iranian nuclear facilities.
During Operation Midnight Hammer in June 2025, American B-2 stealth bombers attacked three major Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.
The operation involved the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), a 30,000-pound precision-guided weapon specifically developed to penetrate deeply buried and heavily fortified targets.
According to the US military, seven B-2 bombers participated in the operation, dropping multiple GBU-57 bombs on the underground facilities at Fordow and Natanz. Tomahawk cruise missiles were also used against targets at Isfahan.
The Pentagon described the strikes as having caused extremely severe damage to Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
However, questions subsequently emerged over the extent of the destruction, the status of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpiles and whether the country’s nuclear programme had been permanently eliminated.
The distinction between the GBU-57 and MOAB is important. The former is designed to penetrate underground structures before detonating, while MOAB primarily relies on an enormous surface-level blast effect.
Consequently, the possible inclusion of MOAB in new military plans does not necessarily mean it would replace the GBU-57 in attacks against deeply buried nuclear facilities.
Tehran has also warned that another American offensive could trigger a much broader regional confrontation.
Iranian officials have threatened to expand their targets beyond conventional military installations, warning that oil and gas facilities, regional energy infrastructure, undersea internet cables and artificial intelligence data centres could be attacked.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei has warned that US-linked digital infrastructure across the Gulf could become a target if fighting resumes.
According to Reuters, two senior Iranian security officials said on October 23 that Tehran had developed detailed plans to attack undersea communications cables in the Gulf if the United States and Israel launched renewed military strikes.
One official indicated that Iran could also attempt to prevent repairs to damaged cables, potentially prolonging disruptions to regional communications.
The threats are particularly significant because the Gulf region has become an important centre for international digital infrastructure, cloud computing and artificial intelligence investments.
Iranian officials have also warned that attacks against energy infrastructure could create serious economic consequences for countries across the region.
Such retaliation could expose American military installations, regional allies and international commercial infrastructure to additional risks.
The threats have increased concerns that a new offensive could extend beyond Iran’s borders and disrupt international energy supplies, maritime transportation and digital communications.
## Tsar Bomba: The most powerful nuclear explosion in history
While the MOAB is the largest conventional bomb in the US arsenal, its destructive power is incomparable to the Soviet Union’s Tsar Bomba, which remains the most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated.
The Soviet Union conducted the test on October 30, 1961, over Novaya Zemlya in the Arctic Ocean.
The weapon, officially designated RDS-220, was developed during the height of the Cold War under Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.
By the mid-1950s, both the United States and the Soviet Union had developed thermonuclear weapons. However, Washington retained a substantial advantage in nuclear delivery capabilities.
The Soviet leadership wanted to demonstrate that Moscow possessed the technological capability to produce weapons of unprecedented destructive power.
Khrushchev ordered the development of the massive bomb in July 1961 as the Soviet Union resumed nuclear testing following a testing moratorium.
A team of Soviet physicists led by Andrei Sakharov designed the weapon, which became known internationally as Tsar Bomba.
Its original design had a theoretical yield of approximately 100 megatons of TNT. However, Soviet scientists considered a full-yield test too dangerous because of the enormous radioactive fallout it could generate.
The weapon was therefore modified to produce approximately 50 megatons.
Even at the reduced yield, it was estimated to be more than 3,800 times as powerful as the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.
The bomb used a three-stage thermonuclear design. An initial fission explosion triggered a fusion reaction, which subsequently generated the enormous energy needed to initiate the final stage.
To reduce radioactive contamination, uranium components in the bomb’s design were replaced with lead. This modification substantially reduced the weapon’s explosive yield while also limiting radioactive fallout.
According to the Atomic Heritage Foundation, the 50-megaton explosion represented the culmination of a series of hydrogen bomb tests conducted by both the Soviet Union and the United States.
For comparison, the most powerful American nuclear test, Castle Bravo, conducted in 1954, produced approximately 15 megatons.
## How the Soviet Union conducted the test
The Tsar Bomba was delivered by a modified Tu-95V strategic bomber, piloted by Major Andrei Durnovtsev.
The aircraft took off from Olenya airfield on the Kola Peninsula, accompanied by a Tu-16 observation aircraft tasked with recording the explosion and collecting scientific data.
Because of the bomb’s enormous dimensions, modifications were required to the bomber. Its bomb-bay doors and some internal fuel tanks were removed to accommodate the weapon.
The aircraft was also painted with reflective white coating to reduce the heat generated by the approaching nuclear explosion.
On October 30, 1961, the bomb was released from an altitude of approximately 10,500 metres over the Mityushikha Bay test range on Severny Island in the Novaya Zemlya archipelago.
A massive parachute slowed its descent, giving the aircraft additional time to move away from the explosion zone.
Approximately 188 seconds after release, the bomb detonated at an altitude of around 4,000 metres.
The resulting explosion was unprecedented.
The fireball expanded across the Arctic sky, while the mushroom cloud rose approximately 60 kilometres into the atmosphere, reaching the mesosphere.
The flash was reportedly visible from distances of around 1,000 kilometres, while the thermal radiation was powerful enough to potentially cause third-degree burns at considerable distances.
The blast destroyed structures across a vast area and flattened the uninhabited settlement of Severny, approximately 55 kilometres from the explosion’s centre.
Windows were reportedly shattered hundreds of kilometres away, while the atmospheric shock wave travelled around the planet three times.
The test demonstrated that Soviet scientists had successfully developed a thermonuclear weapon with an extraordinary capacity for destruction.
Despite its technological achievement, Tsar Bomba was never considered a practical weapon for regular military deployment.
Its enormous dimensions and weight made it unsuitable for conventional ballistic missile delivery. It required a specially modified aircraft, which would have been vulnerable to detection and interception before reaching its target.
The test was therefore primarily a demonstration of Soviet technological and political power rather than the development of a practical battlefield weapon.
Its successful detonation showed that the Soviet Union could construct nuclear weapons with almost unlimited theoretical destructive potential.
However, no second weapon of the same design was ever tested or deployed.
More than six decades later, the anniversary of that extraordinary explosion provides a historical backdrop to renewed concerns about military escalation between Washington and Tehran.
The possible use of MOAB would not bring nuclear weapons into the conflict. Nevertheless, the discussion surrounding its deployment highlights the growing scale of conventional military capabilities and the risks associated with another major confrontation in the Middle East.
