The US military has drawn up new strike options against Iran that could include the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, known as the “mother of all bombs,” CNN reported on Thursday, October 15. The report cited multiple US officials. The plans would apply if President Donald Trump orders combat to resume, either before or after the midterm elections. The targets named in the report are Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear sites.
On the same day, Washington widened its financial pressure on Tehran. The Treasury Department announced Iran-related sanctions on 16 individuals and 10 entities, including an Iraqi bank. No decision to carry out the strikes has been reported, and CNBC and Reuters said they could not independently verify the CNN account.
What the strike plans reportedly contain
According to CNN, one source said Trump had ordered additional strike packages covering a lot of energy infrastructure and potentially involving the MOAB. Another source said plans for attacks on nuclear facilities, including the site known as Pickaxe Mountain, explicitly included the weapon. Trump has repeatedly threatened to strike Pickaxe, where the US and Israel believe Tehran has stored components of its nuclear programme.
One source told CNN that the planning language referred to an attack coming before a US “retrograde” from the CENTCOM area of responsibility. CNN read this as a sign that the administration could launch further strikes, try to declare victory and withdraw quickly.
Officials quoted by CNN were sceptical of the weapon. The 21,600-pound bomb produces a blast over a wide area and is not built to penetrate deeply buried targets. Sources questioned whether it could destroy facilities protected by deep rock. The large blast radius could also endanger civilians if it were used near populated areas.
A White House official told CNN that the administration does not comment on sensitive military plans that may or may not exist, and that Trump keeps all options on the table to stop Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon. A Defense Department official told CNBC the department plans for a wide range of operational scenarios.
Sanctions: Iraqi bank in the crosshairs
The sanctions fall under what the Treasury calls Operation Economic Outcast. Treasury sanctioned Iraq’s International Development Bank on Thursday. It accused the bank of facilitating Iran’s access to the international financial system and of keeping ties to Iranian government entities and Iran-aligned militias in Iraq. The department alleged that the bank used Iranian capital for its business, sent profits back to Iran in US dollars, and exploited Iraq’s former dollar wire auction system.
The sanctions also cover Jazireh International Bank Company and Chabahar International Bank Overseas Company, described as offshore banks affiliated with Bank Mellat and Bank Shahr. An Iranian national, Sayyed Ruhollah Razavi, was named as an oil intermediary who allegedly helped sell Iranian oil and return the proceeds through clandestine banking networks. All 16 individuals targeted are Iranian nationals.
Separately, Gulf News reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated Cuba’s Banco Internacional de Comercio, saying it had served Iran’s Karafarin Bank since at least 2022. The Treasury also issued a general license allowing wind-down transactions involving the Iraqi bank through October 30. That window gives Iraqi counterparties about two weeks to unwind exposure.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the noose was tightening around Iran’s economy and vowed to keep targeting the financial channels behind Iran’s military and allied groups. The designation of an Iraqi lender is notable because it reaches a neighbouring state that depends on dollar access and hosts both US forces and Iran-aligned armed groups.
Political and regional context
The timing is tied to the US electoral calendar. Trump said on October 8 that he would not resume US strikes on Iran before the November 3 midterms. He also said the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would remain in force. Attacks on shipping near the strait and deadly Houthi strikes in Saudi Arabia have raised regional tensions. CNBC reported that Tehran vowed to continue fighting for its demands.
Israel is also heading into an election. Reuters reported, as summarised by Just Security, that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that he did not favour a preemptive strike on Iran before the October 27 elections, while warning Iran and its proxies against attacking Israel. Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened to seize more territory in southern Lebanon if Iran starts a war and Hezbollah joins in.
Diplomacy continues in parallel. Anadolu reported that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing would play a constructive role in achieving a comprehensive Middle East ceasefire and in restarting stalled negotiations. The background is a ceasefire framework that has repeatedly failed. An earlier truce collapsed on July 8 after attacks by both sides. The Islamabad Memorandum signed on June 17 set a 60-day period to negotiate final terms.
Strategic implications
The two developments point in the same direction: the US is raising its coercive options while the political calendar restrains their use. Planning for energy targets would carry consequences beyond Iran. Energy markets are already tight. Oilprice.com’s news feed carried items on Qatar extending LNG force majeure because of the Hormuz crisis, and on European gas prices at their highest since 2023. Those items were not dated precisely in the feed, so they are best read as indicative of conditions.
The CNN report also shows that US officials doubt the military value of the MOAB for the most deeply buried targets. This suggests it would be mainly a signalling or area-denial instrument. That matters for Iran’s calculations, and for Gulf states and shipping insurers that would absorb any retaliation. Arguments for and against such strikes are unresolved. Supporters of maximum pressure say sanctions and military options together raise the cost of Iranian intransigence. Critics point to the risk of escalation and civilian harm.
What to watch
- October 27: Israel’s elections, and whether Netanyahu’s stated reluctance to strike beforehand holds.
- October 30: expiry of the US wind-down license for Iraq’s International Development Bank, and any response from Baghdad or the Central Bank of Iraq.
- November 3: US midterm elections, after which Trump’s October 8 pledge no longer applies.
- Hormuz shipping: further attacks on vessels or changes to the US blockade.
- Diplomacy: any Chinese or Pakistani move to restart talks, and Tehran’s public response to the CNN report.
- Further Treasury actions: additional Operation Economic Outcast designations, which have come at a rapid pace this month.
Sources
- Exclusive: US considering using 'mother of all bombs' against Iran, sources say
- U.S. reportedly considers use of 'mother of all bombs' as Iran vows to fight on
- US considering use of 'mother of all bombs' against Iran
- US weighs 'mother of all bombs' in potential Iran strikes: report
- US Sanctions Iraqi Bank Over Alleged Financial Links to Iran
- US sanctions 16 people, 10 entities (ANI)
- US expands sanctions against Iran, targets Cuban and Iraqi banks
- US sanctions Cuban, Iraqi banks over ties to Iran
- US Treasury releases new Iran-related sanctions
- Early Edition: October 15, 2026
Top image: Erich Robert Joli Weber / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
This article was produced by the Intelligence Report Desk. Sources are linked below.
