“Mother of All Bombs” Against Iran: Trump’s Military Options Between Escalation and Effectiveness
ARK News.. CNN, citing informed U.S. officials, reported that the U.S. military has drawn up new plans for potential strikes against Iran, including the possible use of one of the largest conventional bombs in the American arsenal, known as the “Mother of All Bombs,” at the request of U.S. President Donald Trump.
In a report published on Thursday, October 15, 2026, the network said the plans are intended to provide additional military options for targeting Iran’s energy infrastructure and nuclear facilities, particularly the heavily fortified “Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La” facility, should a decision be made to resume combat operations.
A Political Gamble and Military Questions
According to the report, discussions within the U.S. military have examined the possibility of carrying out the strikes within a timeframe linked to the U.S. midterm elections. However, the option of using the bomb has raised questions among military leaders about its military effectiveness and its ability to deliver decisive results.
The report noted doubts about whether the bomb could penetrate deep rock fortifications inside mountains or fundamentally alter the course of a confrontation with Iran.
The “Mother of All Bombs”: Capabilities and Limitations
The “Mother of All Bombs” is one of the largest non-nuclear conventional weapons in the U.S. arsenal. It weighs approximately 9.5 tones, measures about nine meters in length, and relies on a satellite-guided targeting system.
The bomb was developed and tested in the early 2000s before being used in combat for the first time in April 2017, when U.S. forces targeted a network of tunnels used by the Islamic State (ISIS) in Afghanistan.
A Test of U.S. Military Capabilities
The renewed consideration of the “Mother of All Bombs” has drawn attention to the limits of the destructive power of conventional weapons against heavily fortified facilities, particularly those located deep inside mountains.
While the threat of using the bomb could form part of U.S. military pressure on Tehran, its ability to destroy fortified targets and achieve decisive strategic results remains uncertain amid the complexities of any potential confrontation with Iran.
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