US military weighs use of ‘mother of all bombs’ in potential future strikes on Iran, CNN says

The US military has developed strike plans that could include using the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb, also known as the "mother of all bombs", against Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear sites if President Donald Trump orders renewed combat operations, CNN reported on Thursday citing US officials familiar with the matter.

The potential deployment of the largest non-nuclear bomb in the US arsenal would mark a significant escalation in the conflict, although officials familiar with military planning discussions told CNN that questions remain over its effectiveness in achieving Washington's strategic objectives.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

Trump says Iran war will end ‘very soon,’ predicts oil prices will plunge

US President Donald Trump said late Wednesday that the war with Iran would end “very soon,” predicting that oil prices would fall sharply once the conflict concludes.

"The Iran war will end very soon … Soon, as they want it to end,” Trump told reporters in Montana.

"They'll never have a nuclear weapon, and oil prices will drop like a rock.”

Earlier, addressing a rally in Montana, Trump expressed uncertainty over which Iranian officials the US was negotiating with as Washington sought to end the conflict.

Read: Iran says reviewing US proposals for talks as indirect messages continue

"They don’t have a navy. They don’t have an air force. Their army is decimated. Their leaders are gone.

"I should have probably left their leaders because I don’t know who the hell we’re negotiating with," he said.

The president also described Iran as having previously been a dominant military force in the Middle East, arguing that US military operations had significantly weakened its capabilities.

“Iran was the bully of the Middle East,” he said, adding that the country was no longer as powerful as it had been.

Trump claimed that US strikes had destroyed Iran’s naval fleet and rendered its military aircraft unusable.

He said Iran had 159 ships and asserted that none remained operational, while also claiming that its fighter jets had been destroyed on the country’s runways.

"You know, they were strong. Now they're not so strong ... I said 'we knocked it out,' but they had exactly 159 ships. How many ships are laying at the bottom of the sea? You know, 159. So they had 274 quite good, but not like ours, quite good jet fighters. How many jet fighters are available for use today? Zero! You know where they are? They're all scattered all over the beautiful runways of Iran. They're all scattered in little tiny pieces all over the runways," he added.

Two ships sink near Hormuz after being hit by projectiles amid surge in attacks

A ​container ship and a dry bulk carrier have both sunk near the Strait of Hormuz in the past ‌24 hours after being hit by projectiles in separate incidents, maritime officials said on Wednesday.

Attacks around the waterway have surged over the past 10 days, with Iran saying it is stepping up strikes in response to the US blockade of its ports and tougher sanctions introduced last month.

The Singapore-flagged GFS Pride, ​a small container vessel with a capacity of 2,824 20-foot equivalent units (TEU), sank while sailing through the strait, according to ​maritime security sources.

"GFS PRIDE sustained damage and a fire on board, and has since sunk. All ⁠21 crew members were safely evacuated. No injuries have been reported," the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said in a ​statement on Wednesday, adding that the vessel had been sailing through the strait on Tuesday.

In a separate incident, the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged ​Cape Dao sank close to the strait, weeks after being struck by a projectile on September 23, data from UN shipping agency the International Maritime Organisation showed on Wednesday.

Read more: Strait of Hormuz traffic plunges once again amid new wave of Houthi attacks

One crew member was killed, and the rest of the crew evacuated straight after the strike, maritime sources said.

Its UAE-based manager, Peonies Shipmanagement ​FZE, could not be immediately reached for comment.

The GFS Pride and Cape Dao are the second and third vessels to have ​sunk since the US-Iran war began on February 28, according to an analysis of IMO casualty data.

"MPA is deeply concerned about the continued attacks on ‌commercial shipping ⁠in the Strait of Hormuz," the Singapore authority said.

"Such attacks are unprovoked, unjustifiable, and a breach of international law."

GFS Pride's United Arab Emirates-based manager, GFS Ship Management FZE, could not be immediately reached for comment.

"The latest incidents reinforce the continuing threat to commercial shipping transiting the Strait of Hormuz," maritime risk management company MARISKS said on Wednesday.

"The threat is not confined to tankers, with container vessels ​and bulk carriers also sustaining ​serious damage."

Iran tightens grip

A sharp ⁠escalation in threats to commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas trade passed before the war, has heightened concerns ​about security in the waterway.

Tehran has sought to tighten its grip on the waterway since ​US and Israeli ⁠strikes on Iran on February 28, restricting transit in an effort to gain leverage over Washington.

Iran is increasingly deploying new tactics against vessels transiting the strait as it seeks to keep oil prices elevated and influence US midterm elections, two senior Iranian officials told Reuters.

While Iran and ⁠the US ​have focused their attacks on tankers, cargo and container vessels have also been ​attacked, immobilised or sunk.

The Maltese-flagged container ship Safeen Prestige was hit by a projectile in March and later sank north of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards ​attacked and seized the container ship MSC Francesca in April.