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The Pentagon's chief spokesperson says that nearly 100 American service members have been injured in the war with Iran during this month's wave of U.S. strikes.In a statement posted on X on Monday, July 20, Pentagon spokesman and assistant to the U.S. Secretary of War Sean Parnell wrote that "nearly 100" service members sustained "some degree of injury" since July 7 but that the vast majority involved minor concussions. He said 96% of those injured have returned to duty.The Pentagon did not reveal how the injuries occurred."They are determined to get back in the fight," Parnell wrote in the post in response to a New York Times article that accused the Pentagon of withholding dozens of American service member injuries from the public."The Department of War rejects these baseless and malicious accusations of hiding injury numbers as outright lies from partisan hacks at the New York Times who are desperate to smear America’s military and its leadership," Parnell wrote earlier in the day on July 20.New York Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha responded in a statement that the newspaper is "confident in our reporting's accuracy, which found that the Pentagon did not disclose several Iranian strikes against U.S. forces, nor the resulting casualties and damage.""Our reporting is based on information from several U.S. officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters," she continued. "This is important accountability journalism that helps Americans understand how their government is operating."The latest figure on Americans injured in the Iran war comes a day after the Pentagon announced the deaths of two American soldiers killed in Iranian strikes in Jordan, bringing the number of military members killed since the war broke out in February to 17.President Trump spoke to reporters of the two soldiers killed in Jordan on July 19 at Joint Base Andrews. They were identified as 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas."Those great people, those great patriots, were out there fighting that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon," Trump said.Since the war began on Feb. 28, 427 American service members have been injured as of July 20, according to the Pentagon’s Defense Casualty Analysis System.In March, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that "almost 90%" of about 400 injured American service members at that time had sustained minor injuries.CBS News reported last month that some soldiers and their families say that the Pentagon is downplaying the injuries of service members. An Army spokesperson refuted that characterization in a statement to the outlet."The care and well-being of our Soldiers is of the highest priority," the spokesperson said. "Any assertion that the Army seeks to downplay a soldier's injuries is simply not true."Contributing: Fernando Cervantes Jr., USA TODAY
