London—The Pentagon has dramatically revised the US military’s casualty toll in the war against Iran, quietly acknowledging that 18 American troops have been killed and 624 wounded, after facing mounting criticism over the disappearance of casualties from its official database, according to The Daily Beast and the Associated Press.
The updated figures, published over the weekend in the Pentagon’s Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS), include more than 140 previously unreported wounded troops and restore the names of four American soldiers killed in recent Iranian strikes after they mysteriously vanished from the casualty records last week.
The revised data now lists 14 dead and 417 wounded under Operation Epic Fury, the military campaign launched on February 28, while another four deaths and 207 injuries have been shifted to a newly created category titled “Overseas Operations.” Combined, the figures bring the confirmed US toll to 18 dead and 624 wounded.
The move has triggered fresh accusations that the Trump administration is attempting to blur the true human cost of the conflict.
According to The Daily Beast, the Pentagon sparked outrage after the names of four fallen service members and dozens of wounded troops disappeared from the public casualty database. Officials blamed the omissions on a “temporary technical disruption,” promising the records would soon return.
Instead, they resurfaced under a new category covering casualties from July 7 onward—a date that coincides with President Donald Trump’s claim that a new phase of the Iran war began after the collapse of a ceasefire, a legal argument his administration is using to reset the 60-day clock under the War Powers Act.
The reclassification has drawn sharp criticism from lawmakers, who accuse the administration of manipulating casualty reporting while sidestepping Congress’s constitutional authority over war.
Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski questioned whether the administration was stretching legal provisions to avoid seeking congressional approval, while 12 Democratic senators demanded an explanation from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the shifting casualty figures.
According to CNN, the updated Pentagon database also includes 140 wounded service members who had never previously been disclosed.
The four troops killed in the latest Iranian attacks—1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad, Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, and Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton—have now been restored to the official records.
The controversy follows a New York Times report alleging that the Pentagon had failed to disclose injuries suffered by nearly 100 American troops after fighting resumed earlier this month.
The White House and the Pentagon have yet to explain why the casualties were transferred to a separate category instead of being returned to Operation Epic Fury.
Meanwhile, Iran dismissed the Pentagon’s figures as a gross understatement. IRGC spokesman General Hossein Mohebbi claimed American fatalities had exceeded 200, accusing Washington of censoring battlefield losses.
The revised figures, reported by the US media, mark the highest officially acknowledged US casualty toll since the conflict erupted in February and are likely to intensify scrutiny of the administration’s handling of wartime transparency.
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