Missiles and drones carrying rockets and bombs are flying between Israel and Iran.  Will it stop soon?  Can it stop soon?

            Tensions have been rising between the two countries for some time but it seems that they came to a boiling point when the United Nations' nuclear watchdog's 35-nation Board of Governors declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations last Thursday for the first time in almost 20 years.  This declaration raised the prospect of reporting it to the United Nations' Security Council.

            One day later, on June 13, Israel conducted coordinated airstrikes on key Iranian sites.  Reports cited that several top Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders and Iranian nuclear scientists were killed during the attacks.

            Iran responded with their own aerial assault on Israel.

            According to various news reports, Israel's targets have been nuclear support and military targets.  Iran isn't quite so specific in their targets.

            The fiery exchanges have been continuing since then.

            I'll stop when you stop.  Who will stop first?

            Nobody wants an extension of the war.  Nobody wants to be drawn into the conflict.  But if the fighting is laid at your feet, what will be your response.

            Russia's Vladimir Putin offered to mediate a peace agreement.  I wonder if he is so inclined to work on a peace agreement with Ukraine and pull his troops out of that country before he jumps into the Iran and Israel conflict.

            United States President Donald Trump is weighing the option of giving a 15-ton bunker buster bomb to Israel to reach some 300-feet deep into an Iranian mountain to destroy an untouched nuclear facility.  The problem is that, because of its weight, the bomb needs to be delivered by a B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber.  It is a bomber that Israel's air force does not have.  The United States controls the bomber and the bomb.

            If the United States performs the task it will cripple Iran's nuclear enrichment plans.  It will also pull the United States into the war.

            Should we or shouldn't we? Is it worth the risk?

            Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghear warned, in an Al Jazeera interview, that any American intervention would be a recipe for an all-out war in the region.

            That could be anything from attacks on U.S. military bases in the region, attacks on merchant ships in Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.  They could also mine the Strait of Hormuz which could trap American warships in the Persian Gulf.  Devastating cyber-attacks could be launched against major U.S. government sites, or worse, an attack on our home soil.

            Leaders need to decide soon whether it will be war or peace.