Could the war with Iran start soon?

That's the speculation in today's Guardian. It's fueled by two resolutions moving through Congress this week aimed at "increasing pressure" on Iran to give up its nuclear program, and that the United States (along with Britain and France) is massing the largest armada of warships in the Persian Gulf since 2003 (which happened to be when the war in Iraq started).

There are some other reasons to wonder if the war is coming.

First, on Tuesday the United States agreed to sell Israel 1,000 "bunker-buster" bombs, something the US has resisted doing in the past. The bunker-buster, like the name implies, is designed to punch through several feet of concrete to destroy fortified structures. They're not weapons that you would need for defense, but are the exactly the thing needed to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, which are buried underground for protection from air raids.

Second, China has balked at a French proposal for a new round of sanctions against Iran in the UN, saying that sanctions are not an option at this point and that the situation can only be solved through "peaceful negotiations". Since China has a veto in the UN Security Council, this basically means there will be no additional sanctions against Iran.

Then there are the rumors. Russia may sell Iran an advanced air defense system, something in the past they have refused to sell to Tehran, though supposedly anger over the West's reaction to the conflict with Georgia is causing them to rethink their position. Then there's Georgia, which was rumored to have agreed to let Israel use airbases in southeastern Georgia to launch attacks against Iran's nuclear facilities in return for sales of modern weapons to the Georgian military.