A senator's warning about a secret briefing, paired with new Army training to dig mass graves, points to a dangerous escalation in the Iran conflict that insiders expect soon.

• Senator Chris Murphy says he saw a classified briefing describing a planned post-election escalation in Iran that he calls legally and morally alarming.
• The Army is training soldiers for the first time since the Korean War to dig large temporary mass graves, including scenarios involving chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear weapons.
• A carrier group and thousands of additional Marines and sailors are reportedly moving into the Middle East ahead of an expected go-ahead from Trump.
• Iran says it can still strike US bases, data centers, and other assets in the region and warns it is prepared if US troops enter Iranian territory.
• The push for a bigger war is widely seen as driven by Israel's interests rather than any direct US threat, raising fears of domestic backlash if American troops are sent to fight and die for it.

Outlook: Military buildup and mass-casualty preparations suggest a major escalation is being planned for shortly after the midterm elections, with heavy US and Iranian casualties possible if ground conflict begins.