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The United States and allies are on high alert today for Iran’s next move as President Trump defends his decision to enter the Israel-Iran conflict.

The president is slated to meet with his national security team this afternoon amid fallout over the U.S. bombings of Iranian nuclear sites and a day after hinting at potential regime change in Tehran.

“The timing, nature and the scale of Iran’s proportionate response will be decided by its armed forces,” Iran’s United Nations ambassador, Amir-Saeid Iravani, said Sunday at an emergency U.N. meeting.

Trump's riskiest military decision to date as commander in chief has set off a wave of questions, including over America's geopolitical goals in the Middle East and whether the conflict widens.

“I remain hopeful these limited strikes greatly advanced our national security objectives,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said Sunday, “but if it is clear this is becoming a wider conflict, we must remember that Congress alone holds the constitutional power to authorize war.”

Seven B-2 bombers deployed from Missouri carried out “precision strikes” at three Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend in what Vice President Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday amounted to military deterrence to safeguard Americans.

“If they decide they're going to attack our troops, if they decide they're going to continue to try to build a nuclear weapon, then we are going to respond to that with overwhelming force,” Vance told ABC’s “This Week.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told CBS’s “Face the Nation” that the administration “achieved our objective” while leaving the door open to what comes next.

Tehran has dismissed calls for renewed talks with the U.S. During Sunday's emergency U.N. Security Council meeting, Iran denounced the U.S. and Israel while voicing skepticism about the potential for diplomacy.

PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH? “Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace. If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier,” Trump said during a Saturday night address in which he celebrated a “spectacular military success.” The president warned, "There are many targets left" if Iran does not agree to a satisfactory peace deal.

U.S. intelligence has been assessing the extent of the damage from the strikes, particularly at Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility buried beneath a mountain. The New York Times reported that U.S. officials concede they do not know the location or condition of Iran’s stockpile of near-weapons grade uranium or the state of Iran’s overall nuclear program following the weekend bombings. The stockpile of fuel is a significant bargaining chip for Tehran.

▪ The Hill: Satellite images show strikes’ impact on Iran nuclear sites

Fears are running high that Iran could retaliate against any of the 40,000 U.S. forces in the Middle East or through other means and targets. A “heightened threat environment” exists because of Trump’s order to attack Iran, according to a federal bulletin issued to the public Sunday by the Department of Homeland Security, which warned of potential cyberattacks carried out by Iran or its proxies.

Iran’s Parliament has approved a measure to close the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian television on Sunday. The shipping route between Iran and Oman is key to the economies of the U.S. and the world and Rubio called on China to help block its closure.

▪ The Hill: Strait of Hormuz becomes flash point in US-Iran conflict

Vance — an Iraq war veteran who previously applauded Trump’s campaign pledge to keep the U.S. out of wars — during Sunday television interviews discouraged fears of a “long, drawn-out” U.S. involvement. The vice president also argued that his statements that Iran’s nuclear enrichment capabilities are “significantly degraded” are the same as saying “destroyed.” Trump said Iran’s nuclear facilities were “obliterated.”

Those are assertions that will be reexamined as the impact of Saturday’s U.S. bombings becomes clearer.

'MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN': Trump, who previously denied wanting to topple Iran’s regime, on Sunday seemed to encourage that idea. “It’s not politically correct to use the term, ‘Regime Change,’ but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Isolationist Republicans, who last week were uneasy about the U.S. entering the Iran-Israel war due to recent history, have largely rallied around Trump and the performance of the U.S. military under his command. GOP lawmakers on Sunday warned on talk shows that Iranian terrorists “might” be plotting inside the U.S., and they blamed former President Biden for “four years of open-border” policies.

Democratic lawmakers, wary of criticizing the military for carrying out a dangerous and complex bombing plan, instead pummeled the president for not consulting Congress. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-N.Y.)

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