00:01The human cost of the U.S. war with Iran is continuing to rise.
00:06The latest Pentagon casualty figures show 18 U.S. service members killed and 757 wounded since the conflict began on
00:15February 28, 2026.
00:18The numbers come from the Pentagon's Defense Casualty Analysis System, or DCAS,
00:24and combine casualties reported under Operation Epic Fury with a newer category covering subsequent overseas operations.
00:32But there is controversy surrounding how these casualties have been counted.
00:36In July, the Pentagon's public casualty figures temporarily dropped from 18 deaths to 14.
00:43Officials blamed temporary data disruptions and reporting issues.
00:47The Pentagon later began using a separate overseas operations category for casualties beginning July 7.
00:54That means the full toll requires combining figures from both categories.
00:59Among the later fatalities were three U.S. service members killed in Iranian missile and drone attacks on Jordan's Muwafak
01:07Salty Air Base in July.
01:08Another U.S. service member was killed during the controlled detonation of a downed Iranian drone at Erbil Air Base
01:16in Iraq.
01:17Earlier in the conflict, six Army reservists were killed in an Iranian strike at a facility at Kuwait's Port Shaiba.
01:24Other deaths have involved incidents classified as non-hostile, including accidents connected to military operations.
01:32The wounded figure has also climbed sharply.
01:34By late July, the combined number of wounded was around 624.
01:40But an update on August 19 added more than 50 additional wounded, pushing the official combined total to 757.
01:48Officials have stressed that the wounded category covers a wide range of injuries.
01:53Some service members suffered concussions, traumatic brain injuries, and other injuries linked to attacks, while many were able to return
02:00to duty.
02:01But the changing numbers have raised questions about transparency.
02:05Critics have argued that moving casualties into separate reporting categories could make the overall cost of the conflict harder to
02:12track.
02:13The Pentagon, however, has maintained that the changes are related to reporting and classification procedures, and that it remains committed
02:20to accurate casualty reporting.
02:22The conflict began on February 28, under the U.S. military operation known as Operation Epic Fury, conducted alongside Israel's
02:32campaign against Iran.
02:33After an initial ceasefire period, fighting resumed in early July, with the Trump administration notifying Congress of what it described
02:41as a new conflict.
02:42Since then, U.S. forces and bases across the region have remained exposed to Iranian missile and drone attacks.
02:50And while the official Pentagon figure now stands at 18 killed and 757 wounded, casualty numbers can change as investigations
02:59continue and cases are reclassified or added.
03:02For now, the latest official figures provide a stark picture of the military cost of the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict.
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