President Donald Trump, in an interview with Newsmax broadcast Thursday evening, stated he would not use nuclear weapons against Iran. "I wouldn't use nuclear. We don't have to. We're the greatest nuclear power in the world," he said.
When asked about reports that Washington was considering using the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB), the largest non-nuclear bomb in the US arsenal, Trump clarified that the weapon is conventional. "The mother of all bombs is not nuclear. It's not nuclear at all. This is just an extremely large bomb. It's like a tiny nuclear bomb. But the mother of all bombs is one big bomb, but it's not nuclear," he said, without confirming or denying specific plans for its use.
Asked whether he would put troops on the ground, Trump replied: "No, I don't see that, I don't see it."
Earlier on Thursday, CNN reported that the US military has developed new strike plans to target Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear sites. The strikes could take place if Trump orders combat operations to resume, either before or after the November 3 midterm elections. Trump said on October 8 that he would not order a resumption of military strikes before the midterms. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC.
Merchant shipping through the Strait of Hormuz faces heightened risks after a series of attacks in the critical waterway. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said the threat remains "severe" after the Singapore-registered container ship GFS Pride was struck by an unknown projectile, caught fire and later sank. UKMTO added that "deliberate hostile action" was highly likely and recorded eight attacks since October 11.