WASHINGTON, Oct 16: US President Donald Trump on Thursday (local time) ruled out using nuclear weapons against Iran amid the ongoing conflict and expressed little inclination towards deploying American ground troops, even as the US military develops fresh strike options against Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear facilities, including the potential use of the “mother of all bombs”.
In an interview with Newsmax, Trump clarified that the weapon under discussion was not nuclear and said Washington did not need to resort to nuclear weapons to achieve its objectives against Tehran.
“Well, 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. No, I wouldn't use nuclear. We don't have to,” Trump said.
Asked whether he would consider deploying US troops on the ground in Iran, the President responded, “I don't see that. I don't.”
Trump's remarks come as the US military prepares additional strike options against Iran, including potential attacks on energy infrastructure and nuclear facilities, amid uncertainty over the course of the conflict and the prospects for a negotiated settlement, according to CNN.
The report said Trump had directed the military to develop further strike packages that could include the use of the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB), particularly against Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear sites such as Pickaxe Mountain, CNN reported, citing officials familiar with military planning.
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One source familiar with the planning told CNN that the options included “a lot of energy infrastructure”, while another said plans for striking Iranian nuclear facilities, including Pickaxe Mountain, explicitly included the possible use of the MOAB.
The reported options could be considered if Trump decides to resume combat operations before or after the November midterm elections, CNN reported.
Trump also spoke about the US nuclear arsenal and ongoing discussions with Russia and China on nuclear disarmament, expressing concern that Beijing could narrow the gap with Washington in the coming years.
“We're the greatest nuclear power in the world. We have more in nuclear than Russia. Russia's second, China's third. And China is way behind. But they'll catch us in within five years, which is the whole thing is a shame because I'd love to denuclearise if possible,” he said.
“We're actually talking to Russia about that and we're talking to China about that denuclearisation. We talk; we talk about it a lot,” Trump added.
The President also reiterated his determination to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, claiming that US strikes had already damaged Iranian nuclear facilities.
“We want to make it so that they will never have a nuclear weapon, because if they had it, they would use it, in my opinion, instantaneously,” Trump said.
“We've knocked them out. We've knocked out their sites, their their nuclear is buried under millions of tonnes of mountain. Now we're looking at Pickaxe Mountain. We may have to go there. We'll take a shot at that one. We'll knock it out fast,” he added.
According to CNN, the potential use of the MOAB has raised questions among officials familiar with the military planning, particularly over whether the weapon would be effective against heavily fortified underground nuclear facilities.
The GBU-43/B weighs approximately 21,600 pounds and is the largest non-nuclear bomb in the US arsenal. Designed to produce a powerful blast over a wide area, the weapon has limited capabilities against deeply buried targets, according to sources cited by CNN.
One source familiar with military planning told CNN that the weapon was not designed to penetrate deep underground.
“The MOAB is a massive information operation-type weapon that is great for huge area clearance but not much else,” the source said.
“It is definitely not designed as a deep penetration warhead,” the source added.
The suspected nuclear facilities at Pickaxe Mountain are believed to be protected by layers of granite, raising doubts over whether the MOAB could destroy the underground installations.
Trump became the first US President to authorise the MOAB's use in combat when the weapon was dropped on Islamic State positions in Afghanistan in 2017.