PDB Afternoon Bulletin | October 15th, 2026: Trump May Unleash the "Mother of All Bombs" on Iran & Hundreds of U.S. Troops Sent to Panama

Mike Baker (0:11)

It's Thursday, the 15th of October, welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, the Pentagon is reportedly considering the use of the so-called mother of all bombs against Iran as Washington prepares options for another round of devastating strikes. Later in the show, the Pentagon is sending hundreds of US troops to Panama as it expands its campaign against Latin American drug cartels. But first, today's afternoon spotlight.

The Pentagon is reportedly considering unleashing one of the most powerful conventional weapons in the American arsenal against Iran as military planners prepare options for another round of strikes against the Islamic Republic. According to an exclusive report from CNN, those options include the possible use of the GBU-43B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb, better known as the Mother of All Bombs or MOAB, because of course the Mother of All Bombs is going to have the Mother of All acronyms. It's a weapon weighing more than 21,000 pounds, capable of producing an enormous explosion across a wide area. And according to multiple American officials familiar with the planning, it could be used as part of a new military operation targeting Iran's nuclear and energy infrastructure.

Now President Trump has said that he will not resume strikes against Iran before the November 3rd midterm elections in the US. And there's no indication that he's actually authorized the use of this particular weapon. But the military is preparing its options, and some of them would represent a significant escalation in a war that has already stretched on for more than seven months. The Moab was developed ahead of the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, but it was not used in combat until April 2017, when the Trump administration dropped one on an ISIS tunnel complex in eastern Afghanistan. The explosion was extraordinary, but there's an important distinction here. Despite its enormous size, the Moab isn't what's known as a bunker buster. It's designed to produce a massive blast above the ground, devastating personnel and structures across a wide area. That's different from the specialized penetrator bombs that the US has used against Iran's deeply buried nuclear facilities. According to CNN, one of the potential targets being discussed is Pickaxe Mountain. That's a heavily fortified underground complex that American and Israeli intelligence officials believe is connected to Iran's nuclear program. The problem is that nobody seems particularly confident that a Moab could actually destroy what's buried beneath that mountain. Some officials reportedly believe the weapon could still have value even if it can't penetrate the facility itself. The sheer scale of the explosion could send a message to Tehran about what the US is prepared to do. In other words, the psychological impact may be part of the calculation. But the planning reportedly extends beyond this particular ordinance. CNN reports that President Trump has requested additional strike packages targeting substantial portions of Iran's energy infrastructure. And one scenario, under discussion reportedly, involves launching a major round of attacks before beginning to withdraw American forces from the region. That would be a very different approach from maintaining the current military pressure indefinitely. According to this scenario, the US would deliver another powerful blow, potentially targeting some of Iran's most important economic and military assets, before then reducing its presence.

Now, whether that would bring Tehran back to the negotiating table or convince Iranian leaders to retaliate even more aggressively is another question entirely. For now, there have been no signs that the current military buildup or the talk of renewed US military operations is pushing the Iranian regime to the negotiating table. Speaking Wednesday night, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammed Bagha Ghalibov said Tehran intends to continue using its military capabilities, diplomatic negotiations and regional leverage to pressure Washington. Iran wants the American naval blockade lifted, sanctions eased and US military forces withdrawn from the region. And while Iranian leaders insist they don't want an endless war, they're also making clear they have no intention of accepting Washington's terms simply because the US possesses overwhelming military firepower.

Meanwhile, Iran continues its campaign of targeting commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Two cargo vessels have now sunk following separate Iranian attacks. It's another indication that the regime remains capable of inflicting serious damage on international commerce despite months of American military operations. According to Reuters, the Singapore-flagged container ship GFS Pride was attacked on Tuesday, the 13th of October. The vessel caught fire and subsequently sank, although all 21 crew members managed to escape safely. The second vessel, the Cape Dow, that was attacked back on the 23rd of September and finally sank this week after sustaining extensive damage. One crew member died following that attack.