Iran war death toll excludes deaths after broken ceasefire

The Pentagon’s official death toll for the Iran war has reportedly been lowered from 18 to 14, excluding the service members killed this month. 

The Defense Casualty Analysis System previously listed the four soldiers who died during revived fighting, according to multiple reports. 

The page says it was last updated Wednesday.

Their names were included, however, in a Pentagon press release on the transfer of their remains back to the U.S. on Wednesday. The deaths were attributed to “Iranian aggression,” but they are not included in the hostile and non-hostile death tolls.

Three were linked to attacks in Jordan via Iranian ballistic missile and drone strikes, while one in northern Iraq was killed at an airbase during a controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian drone.

While a temporary truce halted fighting in April, hostilities resumed in early July, and diplomatic efforts to restore peace remain heavily disputed. 

Their removal from the list was reportedly attributed to President Trump’s ceasefire announcement, as their deaths came in July. The fragile U.S.-Iran war ceasefire collapsed, leading to a sharp escalation in conflict.

All of the deaths listed on the website occurred in March.

A separate Names of Fallen list on the same Pentagon casualties site includes 13 service members.

Rep. Thomas Massie, Kentucky Republican, suggested that the slimmed death toll only reflects casualties up until Mr. Trump signed a temporary ceasefire with Iran at the Palace of Versailles in mid-June.

“Let me explain this absurd ruse: The Pentagon is pretending there have been two Iran wars separated by a brief cease-fire,” Mr. Massie wrote on social media.

The reported removal comes after Mr. Trump traveled Wednesday to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to attend the dignified transfer of the four service members. 

“I had a very sad day yesterday. I went to Dover, four great American patriots killed. That’s 18,” he said Thursday, adding, “and one is too many, but it’s 18.”

On Tuesday, he posted a chart to social media comparing the death toll in Operation Epic Fury, the Trump administration’s name for the war launched in late February, to past casualties. The chart included 18 deaths.

Acting press secretary for the Pentagon, Joel Valdez, said that their removal was due to “temporary data disruptions” and would be fixed, The New York Times reported.