“History won’t end after a strike on Iran,” says a foreign diplomat. His brief statement effectively summarizes numerous discussions and complex dilemmas faced by many people in multiple countries right now.

On one hand, action against Iran isn’t a question of if, simply because no other option remains. On the other hand, we’re not talking about one bombing run and we’re done, as the military challenge is substantial with implications and effects far beyond a localized confrontation between Israel and Iran.

Let’s start with the conclusion: Very little time remains to address Iran’s nuclear program. The Islamic Republic is placing its underground nuclear infrastructure so deep that even the American bunker-busting bomb will eventually be unable to penetrate it. “It will be so deep that conventional weapons won’t be able to do the job,” in the diplomat’s words.