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Why did Pentagon lower US troop death toll in the Iran war? Discrepancy raises concerns over transparency | Explained
The US Department of Defense reduced the count of American troops killed in the Iran war from 18 to 14. Key details here.
The US Department of Defense lowered the reported number of American troops killed in the Iran war from 18 to 14 within a day. The change appeared on the Pentagon's casualty website on Thursday after the site had listed 18 troop deaths the previous day.
The four soldiers who lost their lives during the fighting over the weekend are not listed on the Pentagon's official online list of service members killed in the ongoing Iran war.
However, their names were mentioned in a press release on Wednesday regarding the official return of their remains to the United States.
Also read: Who was Angel Rampersad? US Army sergeant from Queens killed in Iranian attack on Jordan base
Why did Pentagon change casualty count?
According to The New York Times, three US military officials said the casualty total was reduced after the Trump administration decided to remove four service members killed over the weekend from the official Iran war tally.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the four deaths included three soldiers killed at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan and one service member killed in northern Iraq. They said the administration concluded those deaths occurred after President Donald Trump declared a ceasefire in the conflict and therefore should not be counted as wartime fatalities.
The Pentagon, however, publicly offered a different explanation.
Acting Pentagon press secretary Joel Valdez attributed the discrepancy to “temporary data disruptions” and described the revised figures as the result of “site anomalies” that were being corrected.
"We remain committed to ensuring the utmost accuracy of all casualty reporting," Valdez said. He also criticised The New York Times report, calling it "a non-story."
Trump says otherwise, gives higher death count
Despite the explanation, President Trump continued referring to the higher figure during remarks on Thursday. Speaking about the conflict, Trump said, "Even one death is too many, but it's 18," despite the Pentagon website showing 14 fatalities by that time.
He said, “We’re going to Dover to honor our heroes, and they’re indeed great heroes. All of them said, very strongly, that we can’t let Iran have a nuclear weapon.”
Also read: Trump pays respects to 4 US service members killed in the Middle East
Limited information from the Pentagon
The updated numbers coincide with more widespread criticism of the Pentagon's handling of Iran-related material.
According to The New York Times, the Defense Department has released limited information about US military operations since the ceasefire collapsed. The media outlet also reported that the Pentagon withheld details of three Iranian strikes in Jordan last week that reportedly injured dozens of American service members and damaged several military helicopters.
After an Iranian attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base killed three US soldiers, Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell acknowledged that nearly 100 American troops had been wounded since July 7.
Defense officials have noted that federal law requires public reporting of troop deaths but does not mandate disclosure of battlefield injuries.
