News item: Just the development of a new bunker-buster could affect U.S.-Iran relations. Yes, it’s true:

Longer than a Humvee and weighing more than two elephants, the latest and largest bunker-busting bomb is an attention-getter.

The $88 million request last month to speed up the operational ability of the MOP, or Massive Ordnance Penetrator, was noticed by some in Congress who saw a signal that Washington was on track for a war with Iran.

Presumably, its listing as an “urgent operational need from theater commanders” was noticed, as well, by Iran’s leadership.

The 15-ton weapon would be most tailored to blast away at deeply buried nuclear facilities. Defense analysts have predicted any attack on Iran would involve the B-2 stealth bomber using its radar-dodging ways to slip past Tehran’s air defenses and drop bunker busters on places like Natanz, where nuclear facilities hum away 100 feet below the surface.

I love this particular line: “This is a powerful stick,” said Thomas Henriksen, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. “It could be helpful if it creates a willingness of the Iranians to suspend their drive for nuclear weapons.”

File this headline under: Obvious.

Hat tip: Free Republic.com