The U.S. military has drawn up options for renewed strikes on Iran that include the potential use of one of the biggest nonnuclear bombs in its arsenal, CNN reported Thursday, as Tehran vowed to continue fighting for its demands.
The strike plans involve the possible use of the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb, nicknamed the "mother of all bombs," CNN reported, citing multiple U.S. officials familiar with the matter. CNBC has not independently confirmed the report and has reached out to the Defense Department for comment.
The 21,600-pound airburst weapon is designed to affect surface targets over a wide area and has so far not been deployed by the U.S. in previous strikes on targets inside Iran. It was used in Afghanistan in 2017 during the previous Trump administration.
U.S. President Donald Trump said last week that he would not order a resumption of military strikes before the midterm elections on Nov. 3.
Tensions in the Middle East are nonetheless elevated amid the sinking of a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday and a string of fatal attacks on Saudi Arabia by the Iran-backed Houthis.
The White House is under mounting pressure to show progress in its Middle East objectives ahead of the midterms, as the American public increasingly feels the impact at home via soaring energy prices and wider cost pressures.
Tehran is reportedly strengthening its defenses around sensitive energy and nuclear sites in preparation for a potential resumption of attacks, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a televised address late Wednesday that Iran must continue to use a combination of military and defensive capabilities, negotiations, and regional strategic leverage to push the U.S. to accept its demands.
Officials in Tehran have previously listed demands including Washington lifting its naval blockade and sanctions and withdrawing U.S. military forces from the region.
Ghalibaf said Tehran's goal is not to be locked in an endless war, but to prevent the U.S. and its other adversaries from being able to achieve their own objectives through military attacks, Iranian state-affiliated media reported.