Pentagon Updates Iran War Casualty Data Amid Transparency Scrutiny
The United States Department of Defense (the Pentagon) updated its war casualty database on Saturday, recording more than 140 additional wounded service members and restoring data on four soldiers killed in Iranian attacks last week. The move comes amid growing public scrutiny over the transparency of war casualty figures.
The Pentagon’s Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) has also added a new tracking category called “Foreign Operations” for deaths and injuries counted “from 7 July onwards”.
Based on the new Pentagon data combined with the total updated for Operation Epic Fury, 18 service members have been killed and 624 wounded since the United States launched its war against Iran on 28 February. The wounded figure represents a significant jump from the previous high of 482.
The Pentagon had previously faced sharp criticism from the media and members of Congress last week when the number of deaths and injuries in the DCAS suddenly fell whilst Iranian attacks were still ongoing. Twelve Democratic members of the Senate Armed Services Committee sent a letter to Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday demanding an explanation for the change in the data.
Acting Defence Department Press Secretary Joel Valdez denied any manipulation, saying the drop in figures was caused by a temporary technical disruption to the DCAS website.
In addition to listing the start date of 7 July, the new “Foreign Operations” category on the DCAS website does not include specific details or name the conflicts in which the casualties occurred. The category contains a list of fallen soldiers, including three Army service members killed in Jordan by an Iranian attack and one soldier killed in northern Iraq by a controlled detonation of an Iranian drone.
The date of 7 July coincides with President Donald Trump’s claim regarding the start of a new conflict with Iran in the War Powers notice sent by the US administration to Congress earlier this month. Under the War Powers Act of 1973, the president must end military operations within 60 days unless authorised by Congress. The Trump administration argues that the ceasefire in April stopped the clock on that rule as of 1 May.
Lawmakers from both parties have rejected the government’s interpretation of the War Powers deadline. However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio reaffirmed the administration’s position at a press conference at the White House in May.
“The law is unconstitutional, 100 per cent,” Rubio asserted.
Meanwhile, Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska expressed her concerns to Hegseth at a hearing on 21 July about the administration’s move, which she regarded as bending the rules.
“That claim essentially allows the president to switch off the War Powers countdown at precisely the moment it becomes legally inconvenient… avoiding the congressional authorisation required by the Constitution and intended by the War Powers (Act),” Murkowski said. (CNN/Z-2)