A Pentagon report reveals about wounded members of the American-Iranian war

The Pentagon updated its official war casualty database last weekend, adding over 140 service members wounded in action. Additionally, the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) has introduced a new casualty category called "Overseas Operations" for personnel killed and wounded since July 7.

According to these updated figures, the official death toll in the initial phase of the American-Iranian war, referred to by the U.S. military as 'Operation Epic Fury', currently stands at 14 service members, with over 400 wounded. However, controversy has arisen over these statistics after the Pentagon abruptly reduced the previously reported figures of 18 deaths and 482 wounded just a few days ago.

This crisis has emerged with the resumption of daily airstrikes since July 6, following the breakdown of the ceasefire with Iran. Analysts and officials have questioned whether casualties from these new clashes should be counted separately from 'Operation Epic Fury', a step unprecedented until now. The Trump administration intends to classify this new military campaign as a separate, independent operation from the previous one.

This distinction is directly related to the 1973 War Powers Act, which mandates the President to end military operations within 60 days unless Congress approves an extension. The Trump administration argues that the ceasefire with Iran in April halted the counting of days for the initial period of conflict starting May 1. Accordingly, the separate casualty count beginning July 7 is considered a follow-up to this legal interpretation.

This distinction became clearer when the names of the four soldiers killed during the renewed clashes last weekend were not included in the Pentagon's official online list for the Iran war. However, their names were included in a press release issued on Wednesday announcing the official transfer of their remains to the United States. When combining these new Pentagon figures with the updated data from the original operation, it is confirmed that 18 American service members have died and 624 have been wounded since the U.S. began its war against Iran on February 28. Meanwhile, lawmakers from both political parties have strongly challenged the administration's interpretation of the War Powers Act's timeline.