US and Israel prepare fresh Iran strikes as Tehran warns of 'father of all bombs'

The United States and Israel have prepared plans for a targeted military campaign against Iranian nuclear, energy, and missile infrastructure following the US midterm elections.

US War Secretary Pete Hegseth met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel to review strike options, with American and Israeli air forces stepping up joint training manoeuvres over Iraq. The planned American deployment, scheduled to be in place by early November, includes three aircraft carrier strike groups, fighter squadrons, Marine units, and Special Operations forces.

While US planners believe an intensive three-day barrage could inflict severe economic damage and force diplomatic concessions from Tehran, Washington has evaluated using the 21,600-pound GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast against the deeply buried Pickaxe Mountain nuclear facility. However, defence specialists have warned that the weapon detonates above ground and may fail to penetrate granite-shielded underground bunkers, while requiring slow transport aircraft vulnerable to Iranian anti-aircraft batteries.

Tehran warns of asymmetric retaliation

Responding to reports of the planned build-up, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi warned that Tehran was preparing to reveal a counter-weapon.

"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," Mohebbi said, adding that Iran's missile stockpile had grown 1.5 times since the conflict in June 2025.

Addressing the Iranian Parliament, President Masoud Pezeshkian acknowledged that Tehran faces a "super-challenge", but maintained that the country would not yield to external force. Senior Iranian adviser Mahdi Mohammadi dismissed the notion of a brief campaign as a fantasy, warning that any renewed fighting would extend far beyond conventional shipping routes.