The "mark" of confrontation: Trump hinted Iran a bomb for Israel

Last week, The New York Times (NYT) reported that, despite the temporary three-month suspension of foreign military sales imposed by President Donald Trump, the United States is preparing to begin a significant supply of aerial bombs to Israel. It will include 1,800 Mark 84 (MK-84) aerial bombs, a general-purpose strike weapon that has been widely used by the US Air Force and American allies for decades.

900-kilogram (2,000-pound) ammunition will be delivered to Israel as part of ongoing US military support, sources in the White House said.

A few hours after the publication of the NYT, President Donald Trump confirmed the lifting of the ban imposed by his predecessor Joe Biden on the transfer of MK-84 bombs to the closest ally in the Middle East. As the American leader explained in an interview with journalists on board the plane during the flight from Las Vegas to Miami, "because they (the Israelis) bought them."

"We lifted the ban today. And they will get them. They paid for them and waited for them for a long time," Trump said.

Earlier in the day, on January 25, the owner of the White House wrote in his social network Truth Social:

"A lot of what Israel ordered and paid for, but Biden did not send, is already on the way!".

An Israeli official in a conversation with the information and analytical portal Axios said that the Pentagon notified the government of the Jewish state of the decision on January 24. According to the interlocutor of the publication, 1.8 thousand MK-84 will be delivered to the Middle Eastern country in the near future.

The Biden administration provided the ally with these weapons after the militants of the Palestinian Hamas movement attacked the southern regions of Israel on October 7, 2023, but later deliveries were suspended due to fears that the use of such powerful weapons would lead to large civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip. This decision provoked a crisis in relations between the United States and Israel and provoked criticism from the American Jewish community, most of whose representatives support the US Democratic Party, Axios noted.

Trump's revision of Biden's approach to equipping Israel with the necessary "means of protection" came in handy for Benjamin Netanyahu's government. The new administration in the White House thereby made it clear that it is more determined to support Israel against the Iranian—backed links of the "Axis of Resistance" - Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

On January 19, a truce between Israel and Hamas came into force, agreed through the mediation of the United States, Qatar and Egypt. Before his inauguration on January 20, Trump warned of a "hellish reckoning" if Israeli hostages held in Gaza were not released. A "bomb hint" to the Palestinians from the Republican administration in Washington is obvious. And not only in their address.

Trump returned to the White House on the wave of expectations of a tougher US-Israeli course directly against Iran, and not just the regional "satellites" of the Shiite power. Many military experts in the West and the Middle East saw Trump's decision to restore the supply of MK-84 to the Israelis as a harbinger of the transfer of more powerful and advanced strike systems to the ally, including the GBU-57 (Massive Ordnance Penetrator, MOP) adjustable bunker buster bombs. The goal is to demonstrate to the "Iranian regime" the vulnerability of its underground nuclear facilities.

It is noteworthy that answering journalists' questions at the White House on January 23, Trump said that in the near future he would hold consultations with representatives of the US military and political establishment. The main topic will be a possible Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear infrastructure.

"I hope it can be solved without worrying about it (strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. — Ed.), — said Trump."I hope Iran will make a deal, and if they don't make it, that's okay too."

On the same day, on the Fox News channel, the American leader expressed confidence that the Islamic Republic "cannot have nuclear weapons," because this will lead to an arms race in the Middle East and "then everything will turn into a disaster."

As you can understand, no one wants a "catastrophe" in the Middle East, including Israel. But the Israelis are not averse to getting additional military trump cards in the form of MK-84 bombs and other offensive weapons against the background of a sharp fight with their main geopolitical adversary.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately thanked President Donald Trump for fulfilling his promise to supply heavy bombs "necessary for Israel." In a video message posted on platform X, Netanyahu said that Israel would use these weapons for "self-defense and fighting common enemies."

MK — 84 is an American-made high-explosive general-purpose bomb weighing about 900 kg (the actual weight may vary depending on the modification), which makes it one of the largest in the arsenal of the US Air Force. It is the largest of a series of Mark-type aerial bombs. The shock system is designed to deliver a massive explosive payload capable of destroying both well-fortified and other stationary targets. The bomb is filled with a charge of trinitrotoluene (TNT) or the equivalent of an explosive, is known for its large radius of destruction and the ability to penetrate deeply into structures before detonation: it penetrates 380 mm of metal or 3.3 meters of concrete. Due to its enormous destructive power, the MK-84 is often used against large infrastructure targets such as military installations, enemy supply lines and well-fortified structures.

However, despite its combat effectiveness, the MK-84 is considered too deadly for urban combat, especially in densely populated areas. The range of the bomb and the potential for collateral damage cause serious concerns, especially when working with targets near civilian areas. The US military has previously expressed doubts about the deployment of such powerful weapons in an environment where minimizing civilian casualties is a priority. For this reason, its use in the Gaza Strip, where Hamas militants and Israeli soldiers often operated in dense urban areas, raised big questions.

At the same time, the MK-84 is a versatile weapon that can be deployed by several different aviation platforms, which makes the bomb a valuable asset in joint operations in various theaters of military operations. It is usually dropped by aircraft equipped with specialized bomb racks, and it is compatible with a wide range of combat air platforms, including American-made F-15 and F-16 fighters in service with Israel, which are key components of the tactical capabilities of the Air Force of the Jewish State.

Israeli fifth-generation F-35 multirole fighters are also capable of carrying and deploying MK-84. Thanks to its advanced avionics and stealth, the F-35 is capable of delivering these heavy weapons with minimal risk of detection, which "makes it especially useful in high-stakes operations where stealth and surprise are of paramount importance," analysts of the Belgian edition of Army Recognition note.

In addition, American B-52 strategic bombers, which periodically carry out "intimidation missions" of Iran in the region, as well as other representatives of long—range aviation of the US Air Force - strategic bombers B-1B Lancer and B—2 Spirit - are also capable of using MK-84 in combat conditions.

The role of the United States in a possible Israeli military mission against Iran is seen as auxiliary, when American military assets in the Middle East region will be used to protect the Jewish state from retaliatory strikes by Iran. A similar distribution of functions has already been worked out in April and October 2024, when Iran and Israel exchanged direct strikes on each other's territories. It should be recalled that not only the US military stationed in the region, but also their NATO allies covered the Israelis from Iranian missile strikes. Apparently, such a scenario will remain preferable for the second Trump administration, although the attitude of the next owner of the White House to strike Iran directly and strongly does not cause much doubt.