Amid continuing tensions in West Asia, US military circles are reportedly examining a sensational option. Reports indicate that the United States could use its most powerful conventional weapon, the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB), to target energy infrastructure and nuclear facilities in Iran.
Developed in the early 2000s for the US Army, the MOAB is a GPS-guided bomb launched from the air. It weighs about 9,800 kg, measures 9.1 metres in length and carries roughly 8,480 kg of explosives. Unlike nuclear weapons, it does not release radioactivity; instead, it creates an intense air blast over the surface using conventional explosives. The bomb earned the popular nickname “Mother of All Bombs” owing to its massive size and the phrase “Mother of all battles,” used by former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein during the 1991 Gulf War.
The US military first used the MOAB on April 13, 2017, against a tunnel network of ISIS-K in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, where it demonstrated its ability to destroy underground caves and tunnel complexes through massive shockwaves.
Defence analysts, however, say using it against Iran would not be easy. While the MOAB is effective against surface targets, doubts remain over how far it could penetrate underground nuclear sites built beneath deep granite inside mountains. Military planners are also assessing the civilian casualties that could result from its large blast radius and the risk of severe retaliatory action.
Media reports earlier put the cost at 16 million dollars per bomb, but the US Air Force clarified that the actual unit manufacturing cost is only about 170,000 dollars. For now, its deployment against Iran remains merely a strategic option under consideration.