Senator Reveals Secretive Iran War Briefing, Warns Of ‘Devastating Escalation’

Democratic Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy warned that President Donald Trump’s administration has developed an “insane” plan for renewed military strikes against Iran that could trigger a “devastating escalation” across the Middle East.

Murphy said lawmakers received a detailed briefing on potential military operations, including a possible short-duration offensive, during a panel on Wednesday at the Middle East Institute. The war, which began with U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, has continued at a reduced intensity following the collapse of a temporary ceasefire, with both sides exchanging limited attacks as Iran restricts shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and Washington maintains a naval blockade, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Murphy warned that strikes against Iranian civilian infrastructure could prolong the eight-month conflict and further endanger American personnel, according to the senator’s official remarks.

“I will just say this, their plan is insane,” Murphy said. “It will lead to devastating escalation and the likely destruction of our commitment to the rule of law.”

As the war continues to drag on, renewed escalations cast fresh light on what Marco Rubio initially suggested to the press in March when this year’s U.S.-Israeli campaign began.

“We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action. We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces,” Rubio told reporters on March 2. “If we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties. This had to happen, no matter what.”

The war has already claimed the lives of 23 American service members, including 11 killed by hostile action, while another 865 have been wounded, according to the Pentagon’s casualty database. The remaining 12 deaths were classified as nonhostile, including fatalities from accidents and illness.

At least 3,636 people were killed in Iran during the initial fighting through April 7, including 1,701 civilians and 1,221 military personnel, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency. The figures exclude deaths from subsequent fighting and leave another 714 fatalities unclassified.

The regional conflict has also killed at least 4,389 people in Lebanon since March 2, with another 12,424 wounded as of Oct. 12, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.