Luke Vargas

I'm Luke Vargas for The Wall Street Journal, and this is What's News Sunday, coming to you early this weekend to dig into the big questions after the U.S.

launched major combat operations against Iran earlier today.

In coordination with Israel, American strikes have targeted Iran's leadership and its military assets.

the prelude to what President Trump hopes is an end to the regime in Tehran.

Unsurprisingly, Iran is heading back, firing missiles and drones at Israel and at U.S.

bases across the Middle East.

While it's still early hours, the attacks that various factions in Washington and abroad have either feared or longed to see for decades are risking a wider conflict.

Today, we'll get the very latest on the US attacks and Iran's response, and look at the likelihood of just such an escalation.

We've got a lot to cover, so let's get right to it.

For weeks now, we have been watching the accumulation of U.S.

military assets in the Middle East, and overnight, the U.S.

military pulled the trigger, using sea and air-based platforms to launch strikes across Iran, including the capital Tehran.

Iran's supreme leader was among those targeted, though his condition is currently unknown.

as is a lot else at this hour, which is why I want to introduce now a pair of journal colleagues who are here to help us cut through the fog of war and help prepare for what we report could be days of intensive strikes.

On the line from Washington is journal national security reporter Alex Ward, and from Istanbul, we're joined by journal Middle East correspondent Jared Malson.

Alex, let me start with you, and let's hear from President Trump here, who this morning made the case for these attacks and offered something of a history lesson, really.

Alex, so much of the focus on Iran lately has been about its nuclear program, its missile program.

These things were the subject of negotiations just a few days ago.

How significant is it then that the president here is citing something quite different, invoking all of that history?

The president is really seeking a lot here, Jared.