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White House prepares plans to use "mother of all bombs" on Iran

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Cite

Jacobs, J., & Watson, E. (2026, October 15). White House prepares plans to use "mother of all bombs" on Iran. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iran-trump-administration-mother-of-all-bombs/

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CBS News · collected 2026-10-15 · by Jennifer Jacobs, Eleanor Watson

Quick Summary

The White House and Pentagon have developed plans to use the Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb (MOAB) against military targets in Iran if directed by President Trump, according to CBS News sources. A Pentagon official confirmed that the department prepares for various operational scenarios but did not specify details about the MOAB plan. Last week, Mr. Trump stated that the U.S. would refrain from attacking Iran before the midterm elections and mentioned "productive conversations" with Iran without elaborating further. CNN initially reported on these plans involving the use of the MOAB, which was previously used in 2017 against an Islamic State cave complex in Afghanistan by order of Mr. Trump.
Written by AI on 2026-10-15, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

As of October 16, 2026, President Donald Trump is considering targeting Pickaxe Mountain, a fortified facility near one of Iran's nuclear sites, in response to the ongoing conflict which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February. According to reports from multiple outlets including CNN and Reuters, the Pentagon has developed plans for using the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb (MOAB), also known as the "mother of all bombs," against Iranian targets like energy infrastructure and nuclear sites. However, Trump did not confirm whether he had authorized this specific weapon or any military action at Pickaxe Mountain during an interview with Newsmax on October 15.

The conflict has reached a deadlock, with diplomatic efforts to resolve it stalled since the summer. Despite considering significant military options, Trump ruled out using nuclear weapons and deploying US ground troops in Iran. The potential use of MOAB raises concerns about its efficacy against deeply buried facilities like Pickaxe Mountain and possible civilian casualties.

Trump's actions are influenced by his desire to boost approval ratings ahead of November’s midterm elections, amid growing public discontent over the war's impact on fuel prices and other economic factors. Officials also express doubts about whether such a powerful conventional weapon could effectively neutralize Iran's deeply buried nuclear infrastructure.

Written for “US Considers Mother Of All Bombs Against Iran” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 11 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 US Considers Mother Of All Bombs Against Iran
Politics · 12 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans right and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
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⚖️ Leans right Hedges 4 of 19 claims Outlet record 59/100
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Hedges 1 of 3 claims Outlet record 66/100
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Daily Mail
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 10 of 23 claims Outlet record 68/100
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The Straits Times
⚖️ Leans left further left than this Hedges 1 of 9 claims Outlet record 66/100
US considers hitting Iran with 'Mother of All Bombs': report Same event
Dawn
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 1 of 9 claims Outlet record 72/100
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Hedges 1 of 2 claims Outlet record 66/100
U.S. considers hitting Iran with 'Mother of All Bombs': report Same event
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⚖️ Leans right Hedges 1 of 10 claims Outlet record 77/100
Trump banking on ‘swift end’ of Iran war to bring down fuel prices Different event
Dawn
Hedges 2 of 28 claims Outlet record 72/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the U.S.'s stance on Iran; Article A specifically mentions plans to use 'mother of all bombs' if ordered, while Article B focuses on Trump's prediction for a swift end to the war with Iran and its impact on oil prices.”
Iran war live: Trump says US hits Iran hard ‘economically and militarily’ Different event
Al Jazeera
Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The first article describes preparations for a potential military strike, while the second reports on actual actions taken and consequences occurring days later.”
‘Like a tiny nuclear bomb’: Trump details proposed heavy ordnance against Iran Different event
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 70/100
“While both articles discuss plans to use MOAB bombs against Iran, they describe different stages or reports of consideration rather than a single specific incident.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
7
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 7 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
66/100
CBS News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
12
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-15 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

CBS News · 4256 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Jennifer Jacobs
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Eleanor Watson
9 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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All 9 articles by Eleanor Watson →

Topics

CBS News Iran Pentagon The White House U.S.

Subjects

Iran GPE · 4× Trump PERSON · 3× CBS News ORG · 2× Pentagon ORG · 2× U.S. GPE · 2× Afghanistan GPE · 1× CNN ORG · 1× Islamic State ORG · 1× The Department of War ORG · 1× The White House ORG · 1×

Narrative

A Pentagon official told CBS News: "The Department of War plans for a wide range of operational scenarios to execute Presidential and Secretary level direction and to ensure mission success in any operational environment."
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-15
🔮 Last week, Mr. Trump said the U.S. would not attack Iran before the midterm elections.
2026-10-15 · CBS News
White House prepares plans to use "mother of all bombs" on Iran · assertive framing

Claims (7 extracted, 0 hedged)

The White House and Pentagon have prepared plans to use a Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb to hit military sites in Iran if ordered by President Trump, sources familiar with the matter told CBS News. asserted
sources → prepare → News
A Pentagon official told CBS News: "The Department of War plans for a wide range of operational scenarios to execute Presidential and Secretary level direction and to ensure mission success in any operational environment." asserted
Department → tell → environment
Last week, Mr. Trump said the U.S. would not attack Iran before the midterm elections. asserted
U.S. → say → elections
He also touted "productive conversations" with Iran, though he did not provide specifics. asserted
he → tout → specifics
CNN first reported Thursday on the plans to use the Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb, or MOAB, on Iran. asserted
CNN → report → Iran
Mr. Trump set precedent for using the MOAB, also known as the "mother of all bombs" when it was used in 2017 to attack an Islamic State cave complex in Afghanistan. asserted
it → set → Afghanistan
The bomb is the largest U.S. non-nuclear weapon, weighing an upwards of 30,000lbs at a cost of $170,000 per unit. This is a breaking story; it will be updated. asserted
it → weigh → unit
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