Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denounced a Washington Post investigation reporting that more U.S. service members have died in the Iran war than the Pentagon has publicly disclosed. Hegseth’s post on X responded to the Post’s own tweet summarizing its report.
Hegseth: “Shame on the Washington Post”
“This is DISGUSTING and FAKE. A complete LIE. Shame on the Washington Post — they’re worse than Iranian state media,” Hegseth wrote. He did not specify which elements of the report he disputed.
Post Reported at Least 22 to 23 Deaths, Versus 18 in Public Database
According to the Washington Post’s report, published Sept. 18 and based on six U.S. officials speaking on condition of anonymity, five of the officials said at least 22 U.S. military personnel have died in the Middle East since the war began — four more than the 18 fatalities listed in the Pentagon’s public Defense Casualty Analysis System. A sixth official put the total at 23 deaths and said three U.S. contractors based in the region had also died since the war began. Not all of the additional deaths were necessarily combat-related, according to the officials, but involved personnel present in the region amid the ongoing conflict.
Pentagon Declined to Address the Discrepancy
The Post reported the Pentagon declined to answer questions about the accounting gap. Details about the undisclosed deaths — including identities, dates, and circumstances — remained unclear as of publication.
Two Named Deaths at Attacked Bases Are Not Reflected in the Database by Name
The Post identified two service members whose deaths, while publicly announced separately by the Pentagon, do not appear by name in the DCAS database. Sgt. Devin Seibel died in a training accident in Irbil, Iraq, on May 31 while assigned to Operation Inherent Resolve, according to a Defense Department release; his name is not included in the database’s Inherent Resolve tally. Maj. Sorffly Davius died of an unspecified medical emergency in Kuwait on March 6 while deployed under Operation Spartan Shield; it remains unclear whether his death was connected to an Iranian attack.
This Is the Second Time Casualty Accounting Practices Have Drawn Scrutiny
The Post noted that four confirmed combat deaths were briefly excluded from the Pentagon’s public tally earlier this year before being restored under a newly created “Overseas Operations” category, separate from the war’s official name, Operation Epic Fury. As of the Post’s report, DCAS listed 14 fatalities under Epic Fury and four more under Overseas Operations, tied to a July ceasefire that later collapsed.
Report Follows Separate Undisclosed Civilian Casualty Findings in Yemen
The Post’s report was not the first this year to raise questions about the Pentagon’s disclosure practices related to the broader regional conflict. NBC News reported in August that hundreds of civilians were killed or injured by U.S. airstrikes in Yemen in 2025 that the Pentagon had not publicly acknowledged or fully disclosed to Congress. A Pentagon official told NBC News at the time that the department would submit its legally required annual report on casualties from U.S. military operations for the 2025 calendar year “in the coming months.”
Senate Democrats Introduced Legislation Targeting the Practice in August
Eighteen Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., introduced the Honoring the Sacrifices of Our Troops in War Act in August, which would bar the defense secretary from reclassifying an ongoing operation while forces remain mobilized against the same adversary, prohibit manipulation of casualty records through redesignation, and require restoration of casualty records and next-of-kin notification for any affected cases dating to Feb. 28. “We would never have had to introduce legislation like this under any previous president, because it just simply would not be done,” Duckworth said.
House Democratic Veterans Announced Companion Legislation Two Days Before Hegseth’s Post
According to the Post, Reps. Pat Ryan, D-N.Y., Jason Crow, D-Colo., and 10 other House Democrats, all military veterans, said Sept. 12 they were pursuing companion legislation in the House to prevent similar data manipulation.
More Than 820 Additional Troops Have Been Officially Recorded as Wounded
The Pentagon’s public database separately shows more than 820 U.S. service members wounded in action since the war began, many from traumatic brain injuries linked to Iranian counterstrikes on U.S. bases in the region, according to the Post.
CENTCOM Document Put War’s Cost at $43.6 Billion Through Early September
A U.S. Central Command document reviewed by the Post estimated the war’s total cost at roughly $43.6 billion through early September, including $28 billion in expended munitions, a figure that does not account for damage to U.S. bases in the region.
Massie Moved to Force an Impeachment Vote Over the War the Same Week
The Post noted that Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., moved this week to force a House vote on impeaching Hegseth, alleging he violated the War Powers Resolution of 1973 by continuing hostilities without congressional authorization — separate from a war powers resolution that passed the House on Sept. 16 with a record seven Republican votes.
Poll Found Nearly Two-Thirds of Americans Disapprove of Trump’s Iran War Approach
According to a September Reuters-Ipsos poll cited by the Post, 28% of Americans said they supported Trump’s approach to Iran, while 62% disapproved.