White House prepares 'mother of all bombs' plans for Iran, CBS News reports
The plan follows a third tanker attack in the Strait of Hormuz in two days, Iran's Guard Corps says.
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Map: The Gulf and Hormuz, marking Strait of Hormuz
The White House is preparing plans to use the GBU-57, a bunker-buster built to destroy hardened nuclear sites and known as the "mother of all bombs," against Iran, CBS News reports, citing sources. The weapon was already under consideration as part of US strike planning, CNN reported Wednesday.
The reports come as Iran's Guard Corps says a third tanker has been hit in the Strait of Hormuz in two days, with the vessel GFS Pride sinking while under tow.
President Trump has said a decision on Iran would come "very soon," language he has used repeatedly since late September without a signed deal. Iran's parliament speaker, Ghalibaf, has said a US deal cannot prevent another attack on Iran.
Earlier reporting on Pentagon strike planning, in early October, described undetermined scale and targets tied loosely to the timing of the midterms. That sat alongside Trump's own offer of sanctions relief tied to nuclear progress in late September, which suggested a diplomatic track remained open. Naming a specific weapon narrows the distance between contingency planning and an operational decision, raising the odds that the options being prepared turn into action rather than staying a hedge against stalled talks.