CNN: U.S. weighs MOAB bomb in options for renewed strikes on Iran
The U.S. military has included the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb in options for renewed strikes on Iran if President Donald Trump orders them, CNN reported on October 15, citing U.S. officials.
CNN said potential targets included energy infrastructure and sites associated with Iran's nuclear program. It reported discussions in Washington about possible action either before or after November's congressional midterm elections.
One facility discussed in reporting on potential strikes is the underground complex at Pickaxe Mountain near Natanz in Isfahan province. The United States and Israel suspect it could be used for work involving nuclear centrifuges.
MOAB is a satellite-guided, high-explosive air-blast weapon developed in the early two thousands. A C-130 transport aircraft carries it to the release area, where a parachute system extracts it from the cargo compartment. That delivery method differs from the use of penetrating bombs designed to destroy fortified underground facilities.
Alexander Yermakov, a researcher at Russia's IMEMO institute, told RBC that MOAB was suited to surface targets, particularly unfortified ones, but poorly suited to deeply buried nuclear sites. Fellow researcher Dmitry Stefanovich likewise stressed its lack of penetrating capability and doubted that using it would fundamentally change the conflict.
MOAB was first used in combat on April 13, 2017, in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province. The U.S. Air Force identified the target as an ISIS-K tunnel complex.
