The Pentagon withheld information on dozens of military injuries suffered by US forces during the war in Iran, according to a report.
At least two service members were killed and one missing after Iranian attacks on the Muwaffaq Salti US Air Base in Jordan on Friday.
They were identified on Monday as 25-year-old 1st Lt Tyler James Feehan from Ewa Beach, Hawaii and 19-year-old Pvt. Isabella Gonzales from Carrolton, Texas.
But in the week leading up to the incident, Iran carried out three other attacks against the US in Jordan that injured dozens of service members and damaged several helicopters, US officials told the New York Times.
The Pentagon did not disclose the attacks nor release details of the casualties and damage inflicted.
Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell has called the allegations “baseless and malicious accusations”.
“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,” he wrote in a post on X.
“Claims of concealment are fabrications meant to further distress the American people in the wake of three service members killed in action. Disgusting behavior, even for the New York Times. In fact, US military casualty information is publicly available and regularly updated online on the Defence Casualty Analysis System for everyone, including the media, to review.
“Injuries in the military encompass everything from minor sprained ankles during routine training to incidents entirely unrelated to combat operations. Cherry-picking raw numbers without context paints a deliberately misleading and incomplete picture. Our troops execute the President’s directives with excellence, supported by superior training, equipment, and medical care that prioritizes safety.
“This is the most transparent department of war in history. We challenge the so-called journalists who wrote these lies, one of whom was recently subpoenaed regarding an alleged violation of federal criminal law, to stop the smears against the finest warfighting force on Earth.”
Over 400 US military personnel have been injured and at least 16 killed since the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February.
US Central Command is not required to release information about injured service members, especially when they return quickly to duty, a US military official told the outlet.
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Another added that the information was not released to prevent Iran from fine-tuning its targeting.
Central Command has stopped announcing details on sites attacked by Iran during the conflict for the same reason, US officials said.
Deceased service members can only be identified 24 hours after next of kin are informed while the names of injured troops are not normally released.
The Independent has contacted US Central Command and the White House for comment.
Last month, two US soldiers accused the Pentagon of downplaying the extent of their injuries. An army spokesperson denied the claims and said the severity was being misconstrued by families.
The attacks on the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan killed two US service members with one person missing. Central Command said four service members were wounded but were discharged after being taken to hospital, while others received minor injuries and had returned to duty.
In an update on Sunday, Central Command said that the US military found “unidentified remains at the location earlier today” and that verification remains “ongoing”.
“Separately, a US service member in northern Iraq was killed in action July 18 during a controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian one-way attack drone,” Central Command wrote in a statement on Sunday.
“A second service member was wounded and continues to receive medical treatment for a minor injury.
“CENTCOM is withholding additional information, including the identities of the missing and fallen warriors, out of respect for the families during the notification process.”
President Donald Trump, who was golfing at his Bedminster, New Jersey club on Saturday when Central Command announced the deaths. He later told News Nation that the news of their death is “very sad, it’s a very sad thing.”
“We hate to see it happen. It’s in service to our country,” he told the network.
“Godspeed, heroes,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote in a statement on X. “Their sacrifice only stiffens our resolve.”
The deaths were the first since an interim ceasefire deal collapsed following a battle for control over the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most vital shipping routes for global oil supply.
Thousands of seafarers remain stranded in the waterway as the conflict continues.
