President Trump's decision to intervene directly in support of Israel's effort to dismantle Iran's nuclear program marks a historic escalation in the Middle East.

• Why it matters: It's a move fraught with risks, and one that Trump and many of his predecessors had sought to avoid, including through diplomacy with Iran, Axios' Barak Ravid and Zachary Basu report.

The latest: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters this morning the U.S. war against Iran is "not open-ended" and is "not about regime change," stressing that Saturday's U.S. military strikes were strictly targeted at Iran's nuclear program.

• Vice President Vance flatly denied that the U.S. is at war with Iran, telling NBC's "Meet the Press" instead: "We're at war with Iran's nuclear program."

But the unprecedented U.S. strikes on Iran have plunged both countries — as well as Israel, the Middle East and the wider world — into a state of deep uncertainty and danger.

• "Anything can happen in conflict, and we acknowledge that. But the scope of this was intentionally limited," Hegseth said when asked if the U.S. was prepared for a "protracted" war.

Inside the strikes: The mission — dubbed "Operation Midnight Hammer" —was carried out primarily by seven B-2 stealth bombers, each with two crew members, who flew 18 hours east from the U.S. and "linked up with escort and support aircraft," Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. Dan Caine said.

• Several B-2 bombers, which were detected by flight radar and reported by the media yesterday, flew west from Missouri over the Pacific as part of a "deception effort."

At approximately 6:40 p.m. ET, or 2:10 a.m. Iran time, the lead B-2 bomber dropped two "massive ordnance penetrators" — 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs — on Iran's underground Fordow nuclear facility.

• The remaining bombers hit their targets with a total of 14 bunker-busters, with all three Iranian nuclear sites struck between 6:40 p.m. and 7:05 p.m. ET. Tomahawk missiles also struck the Isfahan nuclear site.

Caine said about 75 precision-guided weapons were used. More than 125 US aircraft participated, including "dozens and dozens of air refueling tankers" and reconnaissance and surveillance planes, plus a guided missile submarine.

All three Iranian targets sustained "severe damage," but the assessment to determine whether Iran still has some nuclear capability is ongoing, the officials said. Trump claimed last night that Iran's key uranium enrichment sites "have been completely and totally obliterated."

• "We believe we achieved destruction of capabilities" at the Fordow uranium enrichment site — Iran's toughest target, built into a mountain and deep underground — Hegseth said.

In a historic address from the White House last night, Trump warned that the U.S. still has many targets left in Iran, and that the military will "take them out within minutes" if peace with the Islamic Republic "doesn't come quickly."

• Trump posted on Truth Social: "ANY RETALIATION BY IRAN AGAINST THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WILL BE MET WITH FORCE FAR GREATER THAN WHAT WAS WITNESSED TONIGHT."

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened today to respond with strikes against U.S. forces in the Middle East.

• "We have repeatedly stated, the number, dispersion, and size of U.S. military bases in the region are not a strength, but have doubled their vulnerability," the IRGC said in a statement. The IRGC said the response "to the terrorist regime of America" will be "beyond the understanding and calculations of the aggressor."

Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran "reserves all options to defend its security," speaking at a news conference in Istanbul.

• He said Iran isn't interested in diplomacy at the moment. "The U.S. crossed a very big red line. We will respond according to our right. The U.S. betrayed diplomacy and betrayed negotiations. They only understand the language of force," he said.

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In the days leading up to the strike, President Trump and his team became increasingly convinced that diplomacy had run its course — and that military action would be necessary to eliminate Iran's nuclear program, Axios' Barak Ravid reports.

• The big picture: Trump, whose "America First" base has been deeply divided on whether to join Israel's war, has remained steadfast in one position: Iran must never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.

The president publicly announced Thursday that he would make a decision "in the next two weeks" to give Iran a final chance to negotiate, but strike preparations accelerated over the weekend.

👀 The intrigue: Trump made a last-ditch push to avoid U.S. intervention last week, exploring a backchannel meeting with Iranian officials in Istanbul, brokered by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

• The president was willing to send White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Vice President Vance — or even attend the talks himself if necessary.

But the effort collapsed when Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was in hiding over fears of Israeli assassination, couldn't be reached to authorize the meeting.

📷 Rare glimpse inside Situation Room: The White House posted photos of some of the officials who joined President Trump yesterday as the operation unfolded.

• They include (clockwise from top center): White House chief of staff Susie Wiles with Dan Caine, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ... Vice President JD Vance ... CIA Director John Ratcliffe (documents digitally blurred by White House for security reasons) ... SecDef Pete Hegseth ... and SecState Marco Rubio (who doubles as national security adviser). Go deeper.

While most congressional Republicans and some pro-Israel Democrats are praising President Trump's strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, pockets of opposition are already emerging in both parties, Axios' Andrew Solender reports.

• The big picture: The objections center on the argument that Trump needed congressional authorization for such a provocative use of military force.

"We need to immediately return to DC and vote on [Rep. Thomas Massie's] and my War Powers Resolution to prevent America from being dragged into another endless Middle East war," said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.).

• Massie (R-Ky.), a libertarian who often breaks with Trump, said in a post on X reacting to the strikes: "This is not Constitutional."

🏛️ What to watch: There's little appetite among the ruling Republicans to be in direct conflict with Trump on the issue.

• Both Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) publicly backed the strikes on Saturday night.

Zoom in: The position that Trump's strikes were constitutionally unsanctioned is more mainstream with Democrats. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) floated impeaching Trump for striking Iran without explicit authorization from Congress.

• It's a shocking declaration by one of House Democrats' most high-profile progressives at a time when most in the party are instinctively rejecting the mere mention of impeachment.

⚡ Zoom out: Last night, the MAGA movement largely coalesced in supporting Trump's strikes, despite its bitter infighting recently over the prospect of the U.S. entering the Israel-Iran war.

• Skepticism of foreign entanglements is a foundational pillar of Trump's "America First" credo — but so is support for the president.

"Iran gave President Trump no choice," Charlie Kirk, a voice for non-interventionism, posted on X. "Iran decided to forego diplomacy in pursuit of a bomb. This is a surgical strike, operated perfectly."

• "For the next few hours spare us the arm chair quarterbacking and instead trust our Commander in Chief," Kirk added.

But there were warnings that MAGA's support could wane, especially if the U.S. gets drawn further into war.

• "He's got to talk to MAGA. There's a lot of MAGA that's not happy about this," former Trump adviser Steve Bannon said on his "War Room" podcast yesterday. "I believe he will get MAGA on board, all of it, but he's got to explain exactly and go through this."

More on Congress ... More on MAGA media.

"Jaws" hit theaters 50 years ago — and became the first summer blockbuster.

• Since then, a wave of iconic films has drawn audiences to the big screen each summer.

The biggest-ever hit was 2022's "Top Gun Maverick," which raked in $701 million at North American box offices that summer, AP reports.

Americans broadly support parts of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s food regulation agenda — from removing artificial dyes to increasing safety and labeling, Axios' Adriel Bettelheim and Margaret Talev write from the latest Axios-Ipsos American Health Index.

• "When you strip away all of the politically charged rhetoric… there is a lot of alignment," says Mallory Newall, Ipsos' vice president for U.S. public affairs.

📊 By the numbers: 87% of respondents said the government should do more to make food safe through guidelines, labeling or reduced pesticide exposure.

• 6 in 10 want to remove artificial dyes from foods. 7 in 10 want to strengthen food safety inspections.

Friction point: Though they back parts of his agenda, just 31% of Americans say they trust health information from Kennedy.

• Read on.

A conservation group has struck a deal to buy land next to Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp from a mining company that had spent years pushing a controversial bid to mine there.

• Why it matters: "The move puts an immediate halt to a project that scientists and environmentalists had feared could irreparably damage North America's largest blackwater swamp," The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Drew Cann reports.

🌱 Zoom in: The Okefenokee Swamp contains a 407,000-acre national wildlife refuge.

• It's home to endangered species like the red-cockaded woodpecker, indigo snake and wood stork — and hundreds of other species of plants and animals.

What to watch: The refuge has been nominated for the UNESCO World Heritage List by the U.S. government, Cann notes.

• If picked, it would be deemed as having "outstanding universal value" to humanity — alongside iconic places like Yosemite National Park, the Taj Mahal and Vatican City.

Fred Smith, the FedEx Corp. founder who revolutionized the delivery industry, died yesterday at 80.

• Over 50+ years, Smith revolutionized package delivery and oversaw the growth of a company that became something of an economic bellwether because so many other companies rely on it.

📦 By the numbers: FedEx started operating in 1973, delivering small parcels and documents more quickly than the postal service, AP reports.

• Now, it averages 17 million shipments per business day.

The backstory: Smith, a 1966 graduate of Yale University and a Marine Corps veteran, created a delivery system of coordinated flights centered on a main hub — what became known as a "hub and spokes" system.

• He once told AP that he came up with the name Federal Express because he wanted the company to sound big and important when, in fact, it was a start-up operation with a future far from assured. The rest is history.

🇺🇸 Former President George W. Bush said from Kennebunkport, Maine: "Fred Smith was one of the finest Americans of our generation. He built an innovative company that helped supercharge our economy. FedEx changed the way we live and do business."

• "My Yale fraternity brother loved America. He was a citizen, not a spectator. He served as a Marine in Vietnam and was rightly proud of his association with our military. I twice asked him to serve as Secretary of Defense, and he declined twice only because of his devotion to his family."

Read the FedEx statement.

It's been two decades — to the day — since Taco Bell debuted its Crunchwrap Supreme.

• It quickly became one of the fast food chain's bestsellers — and inspired copycats, The New York Times reports (gift link).

Aunt Ginny's, a dive bar in Queens, N.Y., serves a "Crispwrap Ultimate," their own version of the wrap with slow-roasted pork.

• Blue Hour, a Brooklyn restaurant owned by Afghan Americans, has a "Cwunch Wap," with halal ground beef and homemade queso.

Taco Bell doesn't mind. For the fast food giant, the imitations are basically free advertising.