# CNN: U.S. Drafts MOAB Strike Scenarios for Iran Sites as Guards Promise Response

*Wednesday, October 21, 2026 at 8:07 PM UTC — Hamer Intelligence Services Desk*

**Published**: 2026-10-21T20:07:45.894Z (2h ago)
**Category**: geopolitics | **Region**: Middle East
**Importance**: 8/10
**Sources**: OSINT
**Permalink**: https://hamerintel.com/data/articles/21167.md
**Source**: https://hamerintel.com/summaries

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**Deck**: CNN reports that the U.S. military has prepared new strike plans that would use the “Mother of All Bombs” against underground energy and nuclear infrastructure, while an Iranian Revolutionary Guards spokesman says Tehran is preparing a response.

Reporting from CNN has put a spotlight on some of the most severe military options the United States keeps on the shelf for a confrontation with Iran.

According to the network, the U.S. military has drawn up new strike plans to target energy and nuclear infrastructure using the weapon often referred to as the “Mother of All Bombs.” The article, as summarized in regional coverage, says the planning focuses on underground sites linked to Iran’s energy and nuclear programs.

The report doesn’t mean a strike is approved or imminent. Militaries routinely revise contingency plans, including unlikely ones. But public discussion of scenarios involving this bomb raises the perceived stakes of any U.S.–Iran clash and sends a signal about the kinds of targets Washington wants Iran to think about.

Iranian Revolutionary Guards spokesman Hossein Mohab has said Iran is preparing a response to the U.S. “Mother of All Bombs,” according to local reporting that cited the CNN article. His comments suggest Iranian commanders are taking the report seriously enough to work it into their messaging and planning.

For personnel working at sensitive Iranian energy and nuclear-related sites, the rhetoric and media focus add to a long-standing sense that these locations sit high on any target list.

The wider strategic question is how such planning and public statements shape behavior on both sides: whether they strengthen deterrence or make it easier for an isolated incident to escalate.

Signals to watch now include any visible changes in Iranian air defenses around key facilities, unusual U.S. military movements in the region, and whether U.S. officials confirm, deny or decline to comment on CNN’s reporting.