President Donald Trump spoke about his reported plan to deploy the largest nonnuclear bomb in the U.S. military’s arsenal, known as the “mother of all bombs,” to force an end to the war in Iran.
The GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast, or MOAB, bomb would be used in possible strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear facilities. The administration is considering the plan as the conflict remains unresolved over seven months after its start.
In a Newsmax interview on Thursday evening, Trump assured news anchor Rob Finnerty that the bomb isn’t nuclear.
“It’s just an extremely large bomb. It’s like a tiny nuclear bomb,” he said, adding that the United States doesn’t need to deploy nuclear weapons against Iran because “we’re the greatest nuclear power in the world.”
The MOAB is a GPS-guided conventional explosive weapon weighing approximately 21,000 pounds, including a warhead containing about 18,700 pounds of explosives. It was developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory in 2003 and is designed to destroy large surface targets, clear obstacles, and attack enemy positions in caves and tunnels.
Unlike conventional bombs that penetrate a target before detonating, the MOAB is designed to explode above ground. The detonation creates an intense pressure wave capable of damaging structures across a broad area. If deployed, the weapon would be particularly damaging to Iranian infrastructure.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE ‘MOTHER OF ALL BOMBS’ AS TRUMP LOOKS TO END IRAN WAR
The bomb will only be used if Trump orders U.S. combat operations to resume. The president has said he would not resume strikes on Iran before the midterm elections.
The Iran war is a key issue on voters’ minds this year, one that could harm the Republican majority in both chambers of Congress following spikes in fuel prices. Trump has repeatedly vowed that prices will plummet when the war is over.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
