Donald Trump is not ruling out using the most powerful non-nuclear weapon in the US military’s arsenal as a means of orchestrating a definitive end the ongoing war with Iran.
As per reports, the 43/B MOAB (Massive Ordnance Air Blast, or, more grimly known as the ‘Mother of all Bombs’) has only been deployed by the US military on one previous occasion, in 2017, to clear an ISIS cave and tunnel complex in Afghanistan.
The weapon’s origins date back to 2003, where it was developed at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida and intended for use in the Iraq War. It was ultimately never deployed during that conflict.
New reports suggest that President Trump is considering unleashing the weapon on Iran, with CNN citing strike plans drafted up the US military that may potentially include hitting Iranian infrastructures with the 43/B MOAB.
Potential targets could include energy and nuclear sites, but would require Trump himself to give the order.
Despite pledging not to involve the US in a foreign war while president, Trump reneged on one of his campaign promises when he committed US military power to a joint attack on Iran with Israel in February, 2026.
Codenamed Operation Epic Fury, the war was launched following years of rising tensions over Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
In the days and weeks following the start of the campaign, Trump repeatedly claimed that operations would be swiftly concluded, and that a protracted war in the region was off the table.
Eight months after the fact, however, and there remains no clear end in sight. The war itself has been criticized on both sides of the political spectrum in the US, and could play a pivotal role in the upcoming midterms.
“POTUS has unfortunately put himself in a situation where he is almost compelled to do something,” a source is said to have told CNN.
“Without the ammunition designed to penetrate that level […] you have to look at psychological effects for which the MOAB is well-equipped.”
The MOAB weighs over 21,000 pounds and contains more than 11 tons of explosives, making it the most dangerous weapon currently the US military has, outside of the country’s nuclear arsenal.
A warhead that explodes before it hits the ground, projecting a massive explosion outwards on all sides, it’s energy radiates horizontally outward, creating a hyper-velocity wall of compressed air spanning a 1-mile blast radius.
Following the aforementioned strike in 2017 (during Trump’s first term as president), the US military came under pressure to explain if such lethal force had been necessary.
Would you be for or against the use of such a weapon in the ongoing Iran conflict? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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