The Pentagon has revised down its official casualty figures from the war with Iran, updating the number of US military personnel killed and wounded during the 5-month-old conflict.The move has sparked questions about the Pentagon's methodology and concerns over transparency from Democratic lawmakers and others.According to the latest Defense Department figures, 14 US personnel have been killed and more than 400 wounded as of July 27.
That is fewer than the official Pentagon database showed as of July 21 -- 18 -- a figure that was cited by President Donald Trump on July 23 and again on July 26.The Defense Casualty Analysis System, which the Pentagon has referred to as the definitive source on casualties, also added a new category called "Overseas Operations."That category is for those killed and wounded starting from July 7, officials said. Four servicemen and women -- three killed in an Iranian missile attack in Jordan and one killed in Iraq during a mission to detonate Iranian ordinance -- appear in this category.Explanations for the new category are not entirely clear.US and Israeli forces first attacked Iran on February 28. On April 7, Washington and Tehran reached a two-week cease-fire but continued to exchange strikes.On July 7, Trump notified Congress that a new conflict with Iran had begun.US forces struck Iranian targets for 12 consecutive days, while Iran responded with strikes at what it called US targets around the Gulf region as well as hitting several commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.The updated figures have prompted renewed bipartisan scrutiny over how the Pentagon reports combat injuries and how transparent it has been since the so-called Memorandum of Understanding signed last month fell apart.Last week, a dozen Democratic lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee wrote to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asking what was behind the changes in casualty data.Representative Thomas Massie, an outspoken Republican House lawmaker who has been a sharp critic of the war, bluntly called out the Pentagon.
