New Pentagon figures on the Iran war show at least 624 US military service members wounded since President Donald Trump ordered strikes against Iran in February. The latest update, posted July 25, comes after the department changed how it grouped casualties from the conflict, moving some deaths and injuries into a new category called Overseas Operations.
Of the wounded now listed, 417 are tied to Operation Epic Fury and 207 are placed under Overseas Operations. The Pentagon’s Defense Analysis Casualty System had shown 18 deaths for Operation Epic Fury as recently as Tuesday, along with 482 wounded. By Thursday, that death count had dropped to 14 after four names were removed and reclassified elsewhere.
Those four deceased soldiers now appear under Overseas Operations, which the Pentagon says measures casualties beginning July 7, 2026. They are the only four deaths listed in that category. The change in how the Pentagon is presenting the war casualty count has drawn criticism because it was done quietly and without explanation.
Lt Gen Ben Hodges, who commanded US forces in Europe when Trump first took office, said the administration appears to have trouble being straight with the public about the conflict. Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, a frequent Trump critic, called the split into separate categories an absurd ruse in a post on X. The BBC has reached out to the Department of Defense for comment.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said on X that the shifting figures were temporary data disruptions. He said the anomalies were being resolved with the military services. The casualty count also intersected with Trump’s own public remarks: in a Truth Social post on July 21, he said the Iran military conflict had taken 18 lives.
