US Plans Fresh Strikes on Iran After Midterms; Tehran Warns of ‘Father of All Bombs’

The United States and Israel have drawn up plans for renewed strikes on Iran after the American midterm elections, while Tehran has threatened to unveil a weapon it calls the “father of all bombs,” The New York Times reported. The paper cited US officials and others briefed on the deliberations.

According to the report, the two militaries have developed specific plans for a short but intensive operation targeting Iran’s energy infrastructure, nuclear facilities and missile and drone arsenal. They have stepped up exercises, including flying aircraft over Iraq to practise strike manoeuvres.

US War Secretary Pete Hegseth met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel this week to discuss the options.

Some US officials believe another round of attacks, after nearly eight months of conflict, could push Iran’s economy to the brink and force Tehran into diplomatic concessions. Some planners think an intensive three-day campaign could do enough economic damage to change Tehran’s position.

The paper said Washington wants the prospect of fresh strikes as leverage in talks on Iran’s nuclear programme and control of the Strait of Hormuz, while Iranian negotiators have resisted concessions on the nuclear issue and want it deferred to later in the talks.

WILL TRUMP APPROVE IT?

That remains uncertain. The US and Israel came close to launching an attack earlier this month, but Trump postponed it shortly before it was due to begin, despite extensive preparations and heightened alert levels in their air forces.

A White House official said the administration does not comment on military plans “that may or may not exist,” and that Trump is keeping all options on the table to ensure Iran cannot acquire nuclear weapons.

The US is assembling a substantial force expected to be fully in place by early November, including three aircraft carriers, thousands of Marines, fighter jets and Special Operations forces.

Political considerations, including Trump’s earlier pledge not to strike Iran before the midterms, could be a reason the operation is delayed.

THE ‘MOTHER OF ALL BOMBS’ QUESTION

The warning from Tehran follows reports that Trump has considered using the 22,000-pound GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, known as the “Mother of All Bombs,” against Iran’s deeply buried Pickaxe Mountain nuclear facility.

Weapons specialists have questioned whether a bomb that explodes above ground could destroy a site built in granite. Military officials have also warned that it would have to be delivered by a slow-flying MC-130 transport aircraft, which would be vulnerable to Iranian anti-aircraft fire.

TEHRAN: ‘FATHER OF ALL BOMBS’

According to Iran’s state-affiliated Student News Network, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi said: “The United States has the ‘Mother of All Bombs.’ We will show them the ‘Father of All Bombs,’ and it will definitely be something new for them.” Tehran has given no details about the weapon or what the threat means.

Mahdi Mohammadi, a senior adviser to Iran’s negotiator, General Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, rejected the idea that the US could finish another round within 72 hours, calling it a “fantasy.”

Iran, he said, would decide when the war ends. “Our attacks will be more fierce, creative and different,” he said. Iranian officials have also warned that renewed fighting could go beyond shipping and energy infrastructure to data centres and undersea internet cables.

PEZESHKIAN: ‘A SUPER-CHALLENGE’

In an address to parliament, President Masoud Pezeshkian said the memorandum of understanding Iran signed was “very good” because “we hadn’t given anything.” The present situation, he said, is “neither good for us, nor for the region, nor for the world.”

He called it “a super-challenge, not a challenge,” adding: “America didn’t think we would stand firm despite the pressure and war, but we stood firm, and we will continue to stand firm.”

Iran’s representative to the United Nations alleged, as cited by the Student News Network, that Starlink had been used to identify and target Iran in military attacks, and that the country’s space and scientific infrastructure had been hit.

THE COST OF THE LAST ROUND

The report noted that the earlier US-Israeli strikes, between February and April, pushed up energy prices and inflation around the world, weakened security in West Asia and badly strained the Pentagon’s supply of missile interceptors.

THE ISRAELI ELECTION FACTOR

Israel’s October 27 election could complicate the timing. Analysts said Netanyahu could struggle to start a war if he loses and becomes a caretaker prime minister, although some believe the prospect of joint US-Israeli strikes could be used to pressure rivals into a unity government.

With inputs from ANI