Washington Post Says Pentagon Understated U.S. Troop Deaths In Iran War By At Least Four

The Washington Post reported that more U.S. troops have died during the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran than the Pentagon has publicly disclosed, with five unidentified officials telling the paper there had been at least 22 military fatalities, four more than were listed in the data available on the Pentagon’s public database.W

“there had been at least 22 military fatalities, four more than were listed”

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denied the report, and in a post on X called it “a complete LIE.”

Cadena SER

The Washington Post said not all of the undisclosed deaths were directly tied to the months-long conflict but involved U.S. personnel who were in the Middle East amid ongoing hostilities.W

In a separate account, The Washington Post said a sixth official put the figure at 23 military personnel killed since Feb. W28, when the United States, with the collaboration of Israel, launched a massive bombing of Iran that ended with the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The Pentagon’s DCAS database was described as listing 18 U.S. military fatalities as of Friday, while more than 820 personnel had been wounded in action in these more than six months.

The Washington Post’s reporting, as relayed by Reuters, said the Pentagon declined to address questions about the discrepancy in casualty accounting after the Post cited five unidentified officials and another unidentified official about deaths not directly tied to the conflict.

In the same Reuters account, Hegseth said the report was “a complete LIE,” while the Post did not immediately respond to a request for comment.R

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The Washington Post also described that details surrounding the undisclosed deaths—including the service members’ identities, as well as when, how and where they died—remained unclear.W

The Washington Post further said officials familiar with the higher casualty number expressed frustration that the additional loss of life was not reflected in the Pentagon’s public casualty portal.W

The Jerusalem Post reported that the Pentagon’s public account excludes at least four service members killed in the Middle East since the war began on February 28, and said a Washington Post-cited official added that three U.S. contractors based in the region have also died since the start of the conflict.W

The Washington Post said the proper accounting of military fatalities has implications beyond public transparency because, whenever a U.S. service member dies, the military conducts a line of duty investigation to determine whether the death occurred while performing official duties.W

“the military conducts a line of duty investigation”

The Washington Post

It also reported that those findings affect the survivor benefits for which service members’ families are eligible, and that as of Friday, 14 fatalities were listed in the database as having occurred during Operation Epic Fury.

The Washington Post described that separately, the Pentagon said that since February, two U.S. service members died in the Middle East while participating in missions unrelated to the Iran war, and that their deaths were not reflected by name in the DCAS database either.W

The Washington Post further reported that U.S. WCentral Command estimated the Iran war has cost about $43.6 billion through early September, including $28 billion in munitions expended during the conflict but not accounting for the damage to U.S. bases.

In the same Washington Post account, it said more than 820 U.S. service members have been wounded in action since the Iran conflict began, and it described the war as having roiled global energy markets after Tehran closed the Strait of Hormuz.W