US considers using ‘mother of all bombs’ against Iran

The US military has developed new strike plans that include potentially using the so-called “mother of all bombs” to target Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear sites should President Donald Trump give the order to resume combat operations either before or after the midterm elections, according to multiple US officials familiar with the matter.
Using the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb or MOAB, the largest non-nuclear bomb in the US arsenal, for the first time in the conflict with Iran would mark a notable escalation, even though there are doubts over how effective it would be in accomplishing any of Trump’s stated strategic objectives or tipping the balance of the war, multiple sources familiar with internal military planning discussions about potentially deploying the weapon said.
Trump is facing pressure to bring an end to the deeply unpopular war — as Republicans brace for potential political backlash from voters in the upcoming midterm elections and there is little indication the two countries are close to a negotiated resolution after more than six months of US bombing.
While the US military continues to provide Trump with options for potential strikes against outstanding Iranian targets, some officials continue to privately question whether the White House has a strategy that incorporates those plans in a way that could actually end the war — something only the president has the power to do.
Iran-backed Yemeni rebel group Houthi movement on Thursday launched missiles at the presidential palace in Aden, which also serves as the headquarters of the internationally recognised government
Security sources confirmed to the AFP, while a journalist saw smoke rising from the site. 
"Houthi missiles targeted the Al-Maashiq presidential palace in Aden," the government's interim capital, three local police sources said on condition of anonymity, after residents of the southern city reported hearing explosions.
Yemen's Houthis attacked a military headquarters at the presidential palace in Aden, which also serves as the seat of the internationally recognised government, media affiliated with the group reported Thursday.
The pro-Iranian fighters targeted "the headquarters of military operations, led by Saudi officers, at the Al-Maashiq Palace in Aden, as well as weapons depots belonging to them", according to the group's news agency.
Saudi Arabia on Thursday accused Iran of encouraging Yemen's Houthis in the dramatic escalation of their fight with the kingdom, adding that the Islamic republic continued to arm and train the group.
In a virtual briefing with reporters, Saudi Arabia's deputy minister for public diplomacy at the foreign ministry said Riyadh was still in touch with Iran, but that Tehran did not appear ready to make concessions.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said on Thursday that regional actors had helped the Iran-backed group acquire "advanced technologies", without identifying those involved.
The coalition said it has thwarted a missile attack on Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Medina as well as another attack in the eastern part of the kingdom.
It also said that the country's Houthis had attempted to attack dozens of Saudi airports, ports and oil facilities, as fighting between the Iran-aligned group and Saudi Arabia intensified.
The Houthis have been firing ballistic missiles and drones at key Saudi sites for a week, in response to the kingdom's backing of government forces in Yemen's renewed civil war. The coalition's latest statement highlighted the risk to Saudi civilian infrastructure as the conflict escalated.
Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki said at a press conference that the Houthis had launched 20 attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh this month, killing 17 people and wounding 333 others. The airport, one of Saudi Arabia's main international aviation hubs, was among the civilian infrastructure targeted in what the coalition described as a series of attacks. 
A summit between the European Union and Gulf countries in Riyadh has been postponed, Brussels said on Thursday, as Saudi Arabia faces sustained attacks from Yemen's Houthis.
"The second Summit between the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council, originally planned for 24 October 2026 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has been postponed. A new date will be announced in due course," the European Council representing the bloc's member states said.