US losses in the war with Iran higher than previously reported

The number of American service members officially listed as wounded in the war with Iran has risen to 861. The Pentagon added dozens more casualties to its database some time after they sustained their injuries.

This was reported by The Washington Post, which analyzed updates to the US Department of Defense casualty tracking system.

In particular, an additional 29 Navy sailors and eight Marines were added to the database. Thus, the official number of American military personnel wounded in combat since the start of the conflict has reached 861.

However, the increase does not necessarily mean that all of these service members were wounded in recent days. The Pentagon has previously explained such changes as delays between the recording of injuries in the military health system and their appearance in the public Defense Casualty Analysis System.

Statistics on US losses in the war with Iran have been revised repeatedly. As early as August 21, The Washington Post reported 756 wounded and 18 dead American service members.

By September 18, the number of officially recorded wounded exceeded 820. However, journalists found that the Pentagon's internal data on deaths also differed from public statistics: six American officials told the publication that at least 22 service members had died since the start of the war in the Middle East, while the public database listed 18.

Problems with casualty accounting have arisen before. In the summer, the Pentagon moved some of the dead and wounded from the category of operations against Iran to a separate Overseas Operations section after the official end of Operation Epic Fury. The US Department of Defense claimed this was due to the operation classification system, not an attempt to understate the number of casualties.

A significant portion of American service members were wounded as a result of Iranian missile and drone strikes on US military bases in the Middle East. Among the common injuries, the Pentagon has previously cited concussions and other effects of explosions.

The war has also been costly for the US budget. According to a US Central Command estimate previously reviewed by The Washington Post, Pentagon spending on the conflict had reached approximately $43.6 billion by early September. About $28 billion of that amount was for expended munitions.