The Pentagon on Friday updated the death toll for U.S. military operations against Iran to 21, adding two noncombat deaths to its Defense Casualty Analysis System. The system had previously reported 19 deaths. The update was made late Friday to the department’s public database.
One of the added casualties was Maj. Sorffly Davius, 46, of the Army National Guard, who died in Kuwait on March 6. The other was an unidentified Navy servicemember who died by suicide in September.
Casualties are divided into two categories, one for Operation Epic Fury and another for the conflict since July. In the first category, which began with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, 15 service members were killed and 417 wounded. Since July 7, six troops were killed and 448 wounded, with at least 865 service members injured in total.
The revision followed a report by The Washington Post that the Iran war death toll was higher than the Pentagon was publicly reporting. At the time Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the report a fabrication, writing on X that “This is DISGUSTING and FAKE,” and that it was “A complete LIE.” The Pentagon told the Post it “continues to maintain a steadfast commitment to the transparent, accurate accounting of all Service member casualties.”
Reps. Adam Smith, D-Wash., and Chrissy Houlahann, D-Penn., said in a statement that “There is no excuse for a mistake of this magnitude” and that requiring Congress to intervene to correct the error was an embarrassment for the department. They added that the failure of Secretary Hegseth to immediately take ownership “does a grave disservice to the men and women putting their lives on the line in service to our country.”