Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says it is getting ready to unveil a new weapon it calls the “father of all bombs”. The announcement comes days after reports that Washington is considering using its largest non-nuclear bomb against Iranian targets.

IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi made the claim on Wednesday in remarks carried by Iran’s Young Journalists Club news agency.

“We are in the stage of preparing to unveil the ‘father of all bombs.’ This is something new for the enemy,” he said. He gave no details on the weapon’s type, size, capabilities or when it might be shown. Mohebbi also said the Guard is shifting its defence doctrine toward establishing permanent and absolute deterrence.

The phrase is a deliberate answer to the US GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, known as the “mother of all bombs”. It weighs about 9,800 kilogrammes and was first used in combat in April 2017, against an Islamic State tunnel complex in Afghanistan. Iran has used the nickname before.

In 2017, Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, then head of the IRGC Aerospace Force, claimed Iran had a domestically built 10-ton bomb that could be dropped from Ilyushin aircraft. That weapon was never publicly displayed.

The latest boast follows reports that US military planners have drawn up strike options that include using the “mother of all bombs” against Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear sites if President Donald Trump orders combat to resume, according to CNN, which cited US officials.

Trump hinted last Friday that the weapon could be used against Iran’s hardened underground facilities, though he did not confirm the plans. He has also said publicly that he will take no new action before the US midterm elections on November 3, but several advisers privately told CNN they were unsure whether that would hold.

Tehran has dismissed the US threats as psychological warfare. Iranian army commander Alireza Sheikh called them propaganda meant to intimidate the Iranian people and said Iranians themselves are the “father of all bombs”.

Mohebbi had earlier said the Guard has prepared for a long-term war and has “new targets that have not yet been attacked”. He also told reporters the world would be amazed.

The war began on February 28 with US and Israeli strikes on Iran, to which Tehran responded with attacks on Israel and on US military facilities in Arab countries. Indirect talks through Pakistan and Qatar continue, but both sides have kept up their threats.

Iran’s foreign minister said earlier on Wednesday that Tehran wants a peaceful resolution but is fully prepared to defend itself.