US weighs using 'mother of all bombs' against Iran, CNN sources say
The weapon under discussion, the GBU-57 bunker-buster, is built to destroy hardened nuclear sites, CNN reported.
Published
The United States is considering using the GBU-57, known as the "mother of all bombs," against Iran, CNN reported, citing sources.
The option is being discussed as talks between Washington and Tehran remain stalled. Iran's parliament speaker, Ghalibaf, said on Wednesday that a US deal could not prevent another attack on Iran. President Trump said on Tuesday that a decision on Iran would come "very soon," a line he has repeated since late September without a signed agreement. Iran's foreign minister, Araghchi, has said he offered Saudi mediation after Houthi strikes, but Riyadh has confirmed only that the call took place, with no mention of a mediation offer.
UK Prime Minister Burnham has said the Revolutionary Guard was almost certainly behind the Fairford incident, after which the US pulled B-1 bombers from a British base over a suspected Iranian plot.
Discussion of a bomb built for hardened nuclear facilities marks a sharp jump from the rhetorical standoff that has defined this cycle, where mediated proposals, Iranian deadlines and Qatari shuttle diplomacy have repeatedly stalled without resolution. It suggests the administration is weighing direct military action rather than waiting out a diplomatic track that has gone nowhere, raising the odds of an incident that could disrupt Gulf shipping and push crude oil higher.