Lutnick Issues Bizarre Apology After Saying No US Troops Have Died in Iran War

Honest, paywall-free news is rare. Please support our boldly independent journalism with a donation of any size. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was forced to apologize after falsely saying that zero U.S. servicemembers have died in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, in the latest instance of the Trump administration demonstrating a careless attitude toward the 18 soldiers killed in the war. In an interview with CNBC on Wednesday, Lutnick bragged that no troops have died because of how deftly the U.S. has been fighting in Iran. “I think the way the president is playing Iran, there haven’t been American deaths. It’s really just an economic chokeout which the administration is now executing more broadly ,” said Lutnick, calling in from the G20 AI ministerial held in North Carolina this week. Eighteen U.S. troops have been killed in the war and 756 have been wounded, according to the Pentagon — which has already faced scrutiny for obfuscating the U.S.’s casualties in relation to the war. The U.S. and Israel have killed roughly 3,500 Iranians since February, including thousands of civilians like those killed by a U.S. bombing of a wedding this week. “While speaking yesterday at the G20 innovation summit about AI, I answered a question about the military actions in Iran, I misspoke,” Lutnick wrote in an apology posted on X. “18 members of our military have died, and to those families my heart breaks and I am so very sorry for their loss.” Related Story News | War & Peace People in Southern Iran Struggle to Repair After US Attacks on Infrastructure Southern Iran is facing a naval blockade, water stress, electricity blackouts, and disrupted livelihoods. By Kourosh Ziabari , T ruthout September 2, 2026 Truthout Lutnick claims he was thinking of the U.S.’s Venezuela operation, in which the U.S. killed dozens of people and abducted the country’s president but did not suffer troop deaths. President Donald Trump also gave this excuse in a short post on Truth Social Thursday morning. The commerce secretary then invoked the 9/11 attack. “As the 25th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, I am deeply thankful for our military and the sacrifices the men and women who serve our great country make, so such an attack, where I lost my brother Gary (36), my best friend Doug (39) and 656 other close friends and colleagues in the attacks on the World Trade Center, never happens again,” he said. He is referring to the employees of his Wall Street firm, Cantor Fitzgerald, who died in the attack. At the time, he was CEO of the company. Lutnick, who has spent the past decades speaking at length about the human toll of the attack, has faced scrutiny for several of the decisions in its aftermath — first, when the firm froze payroll to families of deceased employees shortly after the attack. The company later pledged to give the victims’ families a portion of their profits for the next five years. Years later, when Cantor received a $135 million settlement from American Airlines over the attack, Lutnick again faced criticism when the settlement was not paid out to families of the victims, but to himself, the firm, and other executives . He took the largest share of as much as $25 million from the settlement, reports said. The remarks are the latest instance of Trump’s cabinet sweeping aside war-related troop casualties as the war continues to weigh on the administration’s approval ratings. Recently, a wife of one of the servicemembers killed when their aircraft crashed during a refueling mission related to the war on March 12 said that her family has been denied benefits because Congress has not authorized the war. After her post on Instagram about her husband’s death went viral, the Air Force said that it will examine her case. “So not only was my husband killed in a war he never wanted to participate in,” she said, “but now the benefits we’re left with are being dictated by semantics and public perception.” Critics have said that the war is unconstitutional as only Congress has the power to declare war. Trump admitted as such in March, saying that he didn’t want to use the word “war” to describe it “because you’re supposed to get approval” from Congress. Trump has spent the last months downplaying troop casualties, bragging that fewer troops have died than in previous wars. After U.S. troops were killed in the first days of the war, Trump faced criticism after he said: “That’s the way it is. Likely be more.” Media that fights fascism Truthout is funded almost entirely by readers — that’s why we can speak truth to power and cut against the mainstream narrative. But independent journalists at Truthout face mounting political repression under Trump. We rely on your support to survive McCarthyist censorship. Please make a tax-deductible one-time or monthly donation. Share Share via Facebook Facebook Circle Icon Share via Bluesky Bluesky Circle Icon Share via Flipboard Flipboard Circle Icon Share via Mail Mail Circle Icon Share via Print More Share via Threads Share via Reddit Reddit Cirlce Icon Share via Pocket Pocket Circle Icon Share via Linkedin LinkedIn Circle Icon Share via Twitter Twitter Circle Icon Republish Republish This Article for Free Republishing Guidelines This article is licensed under Creative Commons ( CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 ), and you are free to share and republish under the following terms: Required: Required: You must credit Truthout and retain our links, as follows: "This article was originally published by Truthout." Required: You must preserve the article exactly as it appears on our site. You cannot edit, shorten or otherwise alter the content. Required: You must clearly credit the author(s) and retain their byline. Prohibited: You cannot republish our photographs or illustrations without specific permission. Prohibited: You cannot use this work for commercial purposes. Article HTML Republish HTML code for copying <h1>Lutnick Issues Bizarre Apology After Saying No US Troops Have Died in Iran War</h1> By Sharon Zhang This article was originally published by <a href src="https://truthout.org/articles/lutnick-issues-bizarre-apology-after-saying-no-us-troops-have-died-in-iran-war/">Truthout</a> In his apology, Lutnick awkwardly brings up his controversial history with the 9/11 attack. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was forced to apologize after falsely saying that zero U.S. servicemembers have died in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, in the latest instance of the Trump administration demonstrating a careless attitude toward the 18 soldiers killed in the war. In <a href="https://youtu.be/dtHzIDWjvK4?si=FgYwYeUzMbSAsAJo&t=2816">an interview</a> with CNBC on Wednesday, Lutnick bragged that no troops have died because of how deftly the U.S. has been fighting in Iran. “I think the way the president is playing Iran, there haven’t been American deaths. It’s really just an economic chokeout which the administration is now <a href="https://truthout.org/articles/bessent-unveils-iran-sanctions-regime-he-admits-could-blow-up-global-economy/">executing more broadly</a>,” said Lutnick, calling in from the G20 AI ministerial held in North Carolina this week. Eighteen U.S. troops <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/08/21/more-than-750-us-service-members-wounded-iran-war/">have been killed</a> in the war and 756 have been wounded, according to the Pentagon — which has <a href="https://truthout.org/articles/pentagon-quietly-revises-death-count-of-us-troops-in-iran-war-from-18-to-14/">already faced scrutiny</a> for <a href="https://theintercept.com/2026/04/01/iran-war-us-casualty-numbers-trump-hegseth/">obfuscating</a> the U.S.’s casualties in relation to the war. The U.S. and Israel have killed roughly <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/1/us-israel-attacks-on-iran-death-toll-and-injuries-live-tracker">3,500 Iranians</a> since February, including thousands of civilians like those killed by a U.S. <a href="https://truthout.org/articles/us-fatally-bombs-wedding-in-iran-killing-4-including-children/">bombing of a wedding</a> this week. “While speaking yesterday at the G20 innovation summit about AI, I answered a question about the military actions in Iran, I misspoke,” Lutnick <a href="https://x.com/howardlutnick/status/2095485340702126389">wrote</a> in an apology posted on X. “18 members of our military have died, and to those families my heart breaks and I am so very sorry for their loss.” Lutnick claims he was thinking of the U.S.’s Venezuela operation, in which <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-overlooked-deaths-of-the-attack-on-venezuela">the U.S. killed dozens</a> of people and abducted the country’s president but did not suffer troop deaths. President Donald Trump also <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117206881233100864">gave this excuse</a> in a short post on Truth Social Thursday morning. The commerce secretary then invoked the 9/11 attack. “As the 25th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, I am deeply thankful for our military and the sacrifices the men and women who serve our great country make, so such an attack, where I lost my brother Gary (36), my best friend Doug (39) and 656 other close friends and colleagues in the attacks on the World Trade Center, never happens again,” he said. He is referring to the employees of his Wall Street firm, Cantor Fitzgerald, who died in the attack. At the time, he was CEO of the company. Lutnick, who has spent the past decades speaking at length about the human toll of the attack, has faced scrutiny for several of the decisions in its aftermath — first, when the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2001/sep/27/september112001.usnews">firm froze</a> payroll to families of deceased employees shortly after the attack. The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/26/business/nation-challenged-compensation-cantor-fitzgerald-starts-paying-45-million.html">company later</a> pledged to give the victims’ families a portion of their profits for the next five years. Years later, when Cantor received a $135 million settlement from American Airlines over the attack, Lutnick <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/04/27/wall-street-firm-paying-obama-400000-faced-internal-controversy-after-pocketing-huge-911-settlement/">again faced criticism</a> when the settlement was not paid out to families of the victims, but to himself, the firm, and <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/9-11-settlement-distribution-stirs-ire-among-cantor-insiders">other executives</a>. He took the largest share of as much as $25 million from the settlement, reports said. The remarks are the latest instance of Trump’s cabinet sweeping aside war-related troop casualties as <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6061903-umass-poll-trump-performance/">the war continues</a> <a href="https://navigatorresearch.org/six-months-into-the-war-with-iran-opposition-hits-a-new-high/">to weigh</a> on the administration’s approval ratings. Recently, a wife of one of the servicemembers killed when their aircraft crashed during a refueling mission related to the war on March 12 said that her family has been denied benefits because Congress has not authorized the war. After her post on Instagram about her husband’s death went viral, the Air Force said that it will examine her case. “So not only was my husband killed in a war he never wanted to participate in,” she said, “but now the benefits we’re left with are being dictated by semantics and public perception.” Critics have said that the war is unconstitutional as only Congress has the power to declare war. Trump <a href="https://truthout.org/articles/trump-admits-iran-war-is-unconstitutional-youre-supposed-to-get-approval/">admitted as such</a> in March, saying that he didn’t want to use the word “war” to describe it “because you’re supposed to get approval” from Congress. Trump has spent the last months downplaying troop casualties, <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116959705309751797">bragging</a> that fewer troops have died than in previous wars. After U.S. troops were killed in the first days of the war, Trump faced criticism after he said: “That’s the way it is. Likely be more.” <hr> This <a href="https://truthout.org/articles/lutnick-issues-bizarre-apology-after-saying-no-us-troops-have-died-in-iran-war/">article</a> was originally published by <a href="https://truthout.org">Truthout</a> and is licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/" rel="license">Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)</a>. Please maintain all links and credits in accordance with our <a href="https://truthout.org/republishing-policy">republishing guidelines</a>. Copy this HTML code to republish the article on your website Close Copy HTML This article is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) , and you are free to share and republish under the terms of the license. Sharon Zhang Sharon Zhang is a news writer at Truthout covering international affairs, politics, and labor. She has a master’s degree in environmental studies. She can be found on Twitter and Bluesky . Truthout

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