[Salon] Dropping MOAB On Iran? The stupidity of this hurts

[Chas Freeman <cwfresidence@gmail.com>]

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2026/10/dropping-moab-on-iran.html

Dropping MOAB On Iran? – Moon of Alabama

October 16, 2026 

Dropping MOAB On Iran? 

The stupidity of this hurts.

Exclusive: US considering using ‘mother of all bombs’ against Iran, sources say – CNN, Oct 16 2026

A second source told CNN that military plans for striking Iranian nuclear sites, including Pickaxe Mountain, also explicitly call for using the MOAB.

The GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) is a ten metric tons heavy surface bomb. Pickaxe Mountain is near the city of Natanz, in the middle of Iran.

biggerThe U.S. military does not have a bomber that can carry a MOAB. To drop such a bomb a C-130 type transport plane will have to carry it directly over the target and drop it from its loading ramp with the help of a drogue parachute.

A slow flying C-130 will hardly make it to the middle of the well defended Iranian airspace. This would be a suicide mission.

Pickaxe Mountain is said to have deep tunnels under thick granite. All a MOAB could do is to close some entries to the tunnels. Something an excavator could reverse in a day or two.

Anyone in the U.S. military who suggested the use of the MOAB for this purpose is incompetent and should be immediately fired.

Posted by b on October 16, 2026 at 15:58 UTC | Permalink