Mother of Bombs and Axe Mountain: Washington and Tel Aviv Plan Strikes on Iran in November

US and Israeli militaries have developed specific operational plans to launch new strikes against Iran following the US midterm elections, according to American officials and people familiar with ongoing deliberations.

According to reports by the "New York Times" citing officials and sources, the planning focuses on a short-term but intensive operation targeting primarily Iranian energy infrastructure, nuclear facilities, and missile and drone arsenals.

The US and Israeli armies are also developing plans for operations against the Iranian nuclear program, which may include an attack on "Axe Mountain," a nuclear site buried deep underground.

Last week, US President Donald Trump said he was considering using the 22,000-pound GBU-43/B bomb, known as the "Mother of All Bombs," against this site.

However, weapons experts note that this bomb explodes above ground and causes a wide-scale blast, making it unlikely to destroy an underground granite-composed site. Military officials also warn that transporting it requires a slow-flying MC-130 transport aircraft, making it vulnerable to Iranian air defense fire.

Side Indicators
As these preparations advance, US and Israeli forces have intensified joint exercises. Aircraft flew over Iraq to practice strike maneuvers, while US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel this week to discuss options for new strikes.

Some officials believe that an additional round of attacks could push the Iranian economy to the brink of collapse and force Tehran to make diplomatic concessions after nearly eight months of ongoing conflict.

However, there are good reasons to doubt that renewed hostilities will achieve greater success than the first phase of intensive US-Israeli strikes between February and April, according to the "New York Times."

Those rounds led to rising global energy prices and inflation, eroded security in the Middle East, and severe strain on the Pentagon's stockpile of interceptor missiles. Moreover, Trump's approval for new strikes is far from certain, as he has repeatedly vetoed plans to return to major combat operations.

In response, Iranian officials have promised to retaliate this time by expanding their targets to include data centers and undersea internet cables, in addition to commercial ships and regional energy infrastructure. They emphasized that fighting would be neither quick nor limited.

Stalled Diplomacy
While the United States is assembling a massive arsenal that will be fully ready by early November, diplomatic efforts continue, as US negotiators use the threat of returning to war as leverage to pressure Iran into making progress on demands related to its nuclear program and control of the Strait of Hormuz.

But Iranian negotiators have so far shown no willingness to make concessions regarding the nuclear program, insisting on deferring this issue to later stages of talks.

Israel and the United States nearly launched an attack on Iran earlier this month, but Trump decided at the last minute to postpone it, after both militaries conducted intensive preparations and raised their air forces to maximum alert status.

One military commander, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that repeated planning efforts followed by Trump's decisions against new attacks caused "daily disruption" among planners, who are trying to remain ready to execute any military option the president might decide on in the coming weeks.

In each round of war so far, the Iranian leadership has become less inclined toward reconciliation, convinced that the ultimate goal of the United States and Israel is to overthrow their government. The new Supreme Leader of Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei, remains a mystery to US and Israeli intelligence officials.

Some officials say he is not as strong as his father, who was killed at the start of the war, and that hardline members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are making key decisions. Iranian officials confirmed they are aware of US war planning and are working on developing new targets and tactics.