Deaths of four US troops killed in Trump's Iran war suddenly erased from Pentagon website.
The Pentagon reportedly removed the names of four US troops killed last week from its list of Iran war casualties because their deaths came after Trump declared a ceasefire that has since crumbled.
By Reanna Smith US Reporter/The Mirror
04:38 ET, 24 Jul 2026
Updated 04:52 ET, 24 Jul 2026
The Pentagon has removed four US service members killed in Donald Trump's Iran war from its list of casualties, just a day after the president attended their dignified transfer ceremony.
On Wednesday, a Pentagon website reported that a total of 18 American service members had been killed during the war in Iran. But by Thursday, the Trump administration removed the names of four service members killed in the Middle East last weekend from the list because their deaths occurred after Trump declared a cease-fire in the war in April, three military officials told The New York Times.
The acting press secretary for the Pentagon, Joel Valdez, claimed the change was due to “temporary data disruptions” on the website that he suggested would amended. He referred to the decreased death toll as “site anomalies” and said the issue would be resolved.
Trump himself had cited the growing death toll. As he compared the death toll from other American wars to his war against Iran on Thursday, the president said that even one death “is too many, but it’s 18.” But the same day, the Defense Department suddenly lowered the number of US service member casualties to 14.
Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas, and Angel S. Rampersad, 28, of Ozone Park, New York, were killed in Iranian missile and drone attacks in Jordan.
Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, who lived in Spring Lake, North Carolina, was killed in Iraq during a detonation of an Iranian drone.
The April ceasefire with Iran has since crumbled and the deaths of the four fallen soldiers came after Trump ordered renewed strikes on Iran, which have now been carried out for 13 nights in a row.
“The department attempted to explain the anomalies to The New York Times ahead of publication, but given their lack of knowledge in this area, they proceeded to write a non-story,” Valdez said in an email to The New York Times, adding: “We remain committed to ensuring the utmost accuracy of all casualty reporting.”
However, the Department of War's Defense Casualty Analysis System still shows the total death toll as 14 as of Friday morning.
The Pentagon has also separated the number of US troops killed during the Iran war by "hostile" and "non-hostile" casualties. On Wednesday, its data showed that 11 service members were killed in hostilities and seven in accidents related to the war.
The seven killed in accidents includes the crew of a US military KC-135 refueling aircraft that crashed in Iraq in March while involved in US operations against Iran.
On Friday morning, the deaths on the site were listed as seven services members killed in hostilities and seven in "non-hostile" circumstances.
The US and Iran have exchanged escalating strikes in fighting over the past week that began with a struggle over control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz. On Friday morning, the US military said it had wrapped up its 13th night of strikes against Iran.
Iranian state media reported that four people had been killed and nine injured in the bombardment. US Central Command said the latest barrage was designed to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters” as the Americans push to regain control over the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas transited in peacetime.
It said the strikes ended shortly before 5am local time Friday. Since the collapse of the ceasefire, the Pentagon has provided little information about its military strategy in Iran.
The last major Pentagon briefing on the war was back in May and the defense department has been slow to release any information about the number of wounded US troops. The Pentagon initially withheld information about three Iranian strikes that injured dozens of American troops in Jordan last week.
Several helicopters were also damaged in the strikes. After three soldiers were killed in an Iranian strike in Jordan last Friday, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, Sean Parnell, finally revealed that the number of US military casualties since July 7 had soared to nearly 100.
Defense Department officials say that they are bound by law to report troop deaths, but not injuries as critics argue that Trump should be informing the American public about the conduct of war.
By Reanna Smith US Reporter/The Mirror
04:38 ET, 24 Jul 2026
Updated 04:52 ET, 24 Jul 2026
The Pentagon has removed four US service members killed in Donald Trump's Iran war from its list of casualties, just a day after the president attended their dignified transfer ceremony.
On Wednesday, a Pentagon website reported that a total of 18 American service members had been killed during the war in Iran. But by Thursday, the Trump administration removed the names of four service members killed in the Middle East last weekend from the list because their deaths occurred after Trump declared a cease-fire in the war in April, three military officials told The New York Times.
The acting press secretary for the Pentagon, Joel Valdez, claimed the change was due to “temporary data disruptions” on the website that he suggested would amended. He referred to the decreased death toll as “site anomalies” and said the issue would be resolved.
Trump himself had cited the growing death toll. As he compared the death toll from other American wars to his war against Iran on Thursday, the president said that even one death “is too many, but it’s 18.” But the same day, the Defense Department suddenly lowered the number of US service member casualties to 14.
Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas, and Angel S. Rampersad, 28, of Ozone Park, New York, were killed in Iranian missile and drone attacks in Jordan.
Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, who lived in Spring Lake, North Carolina, was killed in Iraq during a detonation of an Iranian drone.
The April ceasefire with Iran has since crumbled and the deaths of the four fallen soldiers came after Trump ordered renewed strikes on Iran, which have now been carried out for 13 nights in a row.
“The department attempted to explain the anomalies to The New York Times ahead of publication, but given their lack of knowledge in this area, they proceeded to write a non-story,” Valdez said in an email to The New York Times, adding: “We remain committed to ensuring the utmost accuracy of all casualty reporting.”
However, the Department of War's Defense Casualty Analysis System still shows the total death toll as 14 as of Friday morning.
The Pentagon has also separated the number of US troops killed during the Iran war by "hostile" and "non-hostile" casualties. On Wednesday, its data showed that 11 service members were killed in hostilities and seven in accidents related to the war.
The seven killed in accidents includes the crew of a US military KC-135 refueling aircraft that crashed in Iraq in March while involved in US operations against Iran.
On Friday morning, the deaths on the site were listed as seven services members killed in hostilities and seven in "non-hostile" circumstances.
The US and Iran have exchanged escalating strikes in fighting over the past week that began with a struggle over control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz. On Friday morning, the US military said it had wrapped up its 13th night of strikes against Iran.
Iranian state media reported that four people had been killed and nine injured in the bombardment. US Central Command said the latest barrage was designed to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters” as the Americans push to regain control over the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas transited in peacetime.
It said the strikes ended shortly before 5am local time Friday. Since the collapse of the ceasefire, the Pentagon has provided little information about its military strategy in Iran.
The last major Pentagon briefing on the war was back in May and the defense department has been slow to release any information about the number of wounded US troops. The Pentagon initially withheld information about three Iranian strikes that injured dozens of American troops in Jordan last week.
Several helicopters were also damaged in the strikes. After three soldiers were killed in an Iranian strike in Jordan last Friday, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, Sean Parnell, finally revealed that the number of US military casualties since July 7 had soared to nearly 100.
Defense Department officials say that they are bound by law to report troop deaths, but not injuries as critics argue that Trump should be informing the American public about the conduct of war.
