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By Giulia Carbonaro
Senior Reporter
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The number of U.S. service members killed during the war in Iran was lowered from 18 to 14 on Thursday, with the Department of Defense's acting press secretary, Joel Valdez, saying the change was due to "temporary data disruptions."
However, three military officials gave a different explanation for the change, The New York Times reported, saying that the Trump administration decided to remove four service members killed between July 17 and 19—only three of whom have been publicly identified—because their deaths occurred after President Donald Trump declared a ceasefire in April.
The three officials spoke on conditions of anonymity, citing sensitive internal discussions, the paper said. The ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran collapsed in recent weeks after Trump accused Iran of violating its terms.
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Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell criticized the Times' reporting, calling it "fake news."
On X, Parnell wrote on Thursday: "This is one of the worst instances of the Fake News media manufacturing lies out of thin air for absolutely no reason at all but to cause distress among the American people.
"Our Pentagon Press Office gave the New York Times a courtesy off-the-record phone call explaining in detail that the site errors on the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) were due to a temporary data disruption. Our team explained we are working on it being resolved in coordination with the Military Services."
When contacted for additional comment, the Pentagon directed Newsweek to Parnell's remarks on X.
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What Trump Has Said About US Troop Deaths
The total death toll of the Iran war among U.S. troops was lowered only a day after Trump was accused of minimizing the deaths. The president compared the conflict's death toll with that of past wars, such as Vietnam and Afghanistan, appearing to boast about the relatively small number.
On Wednesday, Trump also faced backlash after describing the war in Iran as a "skirmish." According to the independent research publication MilitarySpend, the estimated casualty count—civilian and military—across all parties involved in the Iran war ranges from 8,971 to 18,305.
Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican who voted with Democrats to limit Trump's powers to continue waging war in Iran, criticized the Pentagon's death toll revision and the explanation it provided.
"Let me explain this absurd ruse: The Pentagon is pretending there have been two Iran wars separated by a brief cease-fire," Massie wrote on X. "The reality: By going more than 90 days without congressional authorization @SecWar IS BREAKING THE LAW and must be held accountable."
Senator Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, called the move "an abomination."
Former Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a onetime Trump loyalist who is now among the administration's fiercest critics, commented on Massie's post, writing, "This is one of the most shameful things I've ever seen."
In a separate post, she described the exclusion of the four service members from the official tally as "repulsive."
Who Are the US Service Members Killed in Iran War?
The U.S. military has confirmed that 18 service members have died since the beginning of the conflict.
Six Army Reserve soldiers were killed in an Iranian strike on a tactical operation center in Kuwait's Port Shuaiba on March 1, the day after the war began with U.S.-Israeli strikes against the Islamic Republic.
These were the Army Reserve soldiers killed in the attack:
- Major Jeffrey R. O'Brien, 45, of Waukee, Iowa
- Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54, of Spotsylvania, Virginia
- Master Sergeant Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota
- Sergeant Declan J. Coady, 20, of Des Moines, Iowa
- Captain Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida
- Sergeant 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska
Sergeant Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, of Glendale, Kentucky, was the seventh U.S. service member to be killed. He died of his wounds after being injured in an Iranian attack on the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia on March 1.
Six service members were killed on March 12 when their KC-135 refueling plane crashed in western Iraq. These included three members of the Ohio Air National Guard's 121st Air Refueling Wing.
These were the six service members killed in the crash:
- Major John A. Klinner, 33, of Auburn, Alabama
- Captain Ariana Savino, 31, of Covington, Washington
- Technical Sergeant Ashley Pruitt, 34, of Bardstown, Kentucky
- Captain Seth Koval, 38, of Stoutsville, Ohio
- Captain Curtis Angst, 30, of Wilmington, Ohio
- Technical Sergeant Tyler Simmons, 28, of Columbus, Ohio
Commander Gabriel Edwards, a native of Oakland, Oregon, was identified as a sailor who had gone missing after a helicopter's emergency landing in the Arabian Sea on July 1.
Private Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas, and First Lieutenant Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, were killed in action on July 17 and July 18, respectively, according to the Pentagon. The two were supporting a U.S. mission against the Islamic State group in Jordan called Operation Inherent Resolve when they were killed during an enemy attack at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, officials said.
A third soldier based in Jordan had been listed as missing in action since the Iranian attack on Friday. The Pentagon has now identified the soldier as Sergeant Angel S. Rampersad, 28, of Ozone Park, New York, who is believed to have been killed in the same attack.
Another U.S. service member, Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, was confirmed by the U.S. military to have been killed "during a controlled detonation of a downed One-Way Unmanned Aerial System" on July 19 at the Erbil Air Base in Iraq.
More than 500 U.S. troops have been wounded in the Iran war, a U.S. official told the Associated Press.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Daniel Orton and Shakeema Edwards.
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