More than 600 American military personnel have been wounded since the United States launched military operations against Iran earlier this year.

The latest Pentagon figures reveal not only the growing human toll of the conflict but also triggered fresh scrutiny over changes made to official casualty records.

A casualty update released by the US Department of Defense, according to the BBC, showed that 624 service members have sustained injuries since the conflict began following President Donald Trump’s decision to order strikes against Iran.

The report Indicated that 417 of the wounded were recorded under Operation Epic Fury, the codename for the initial US offensive, while 207 others were listed under a newly created category known as Overseas Operations.

The revised figures emerged despite a ceasefire reached between Washington and Tehran in April and a Memorandum of Understanding signed two months later to end the hostilities.

Although those agreements temporarily slowed the fighting, both governments have repeatedly accused each other of violating the truce.

The disagreement had led to renewed military exchanges across the Middle East.

Alongside the updated injury figures, the Pentagon also amended its fatality records by reducing deaths attributed to Operation Epic Fury from 18 to 14.

The four personnel removed from that list were reassigned to the Overseas Operations category, which now accounts for all fatalities recorded under the new classification.

According to the updated report, three of the four service members were killed during Iranian missile strikes on a US military installation in Jordan on July 17, while the fourth died in Iraq during the controlled detonation of an Iranian drone.

The revisions have drawn criticism from military observers and members of Congress, who questioned why casualties linked to the same conflict were being separated into different operational categories.

Retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, who previously commanded US Army forces in Europe, said the changes have further undermined confidence in the administration’s handling of information related to the conflict.

“The administration seems to have a real hard time being honest about what is going on, not just about casualties, but about the whole war in general,” Hodges said.

Republican Congressman Thomas Massie also faulted the reporting changes, describing the classification system as “an absurd ruse.”

Responding to the criticism, Pentagon spokesman, Sean Parnell, dismissed suggestions of deliberate manipulation, saying the revisions resulted from “temporary data disruptions” and were being corrected in collaboration with the various branches of the US military.

However, the Department of Defense has yet to explain whether all 207 personnel listed under Overseas Operations sustained injuries directly linked to combat with Iran.

The latest update comes after fighting escalated again in mid July when the temporary truce began to collapse.

US forces resumed strikes on Iranian military positions, prompting retaliatory attacks by Iranian forces on American military facilities across the region in nearly two weeks of sustained exchanges.

While no major attacks have been reported for three consecutive nights, raising cautious optimism over renewed diplomatic efforts, the Pentagon’s latest casualty report highlights the continuing cost of the conflict and the uncertainty surrounding prospects for a lasting peace between Washington and Tehran.

Daily Trust reports that the latest figures also mark a significant revision of the Pentagon’s earlier casualty records.

Before the update, Operation Epic Fury had officially recorded 18 fatalities and 482 wounded personnel.

Under the revised accounting, however, the Pentagon reduced the death toll under the operation to 14 and the number of wounded to 417, after transferring four deaths and 207 injuries to a newly created category known as Overseas Operations.

While the reclassification left the overall death toll unchanged at 18, it increased the total number of reported wounded service members from 482 to 624, an addition of 142 previously unreported injuries.

The changes, made without an immediate detailed explanation, have fuelled criticism from military analysts and lawmakers, who argue that the revised reporting raises fresh concerns over transparency in documenting the human cost of the conflict.

The mounting casualty figures come as the Trump administration faces increasing scrutiny over the cost of the war, including concerns about the rapid consumption of US precision-guided munitions.

Defence officials and independent analysts have warned that months of sustained strikes against Iran have significantly reduced inventories of key missiles and air defence interceptors, prompting debate in Washington over the country’s ability to sustain a prolonged conflict while maintaining readiness for other global threats.

Analysts at the Washington based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) estimate that the first phase of the Iran war cost the United States several billion dollars, with the expenditure of long range cruise missiles and advanced air defence systems becoming one of the conflict’s most significant strategic and financial burdens.

The financial burden of the conflict has also become a major political issue in Washington.

During a tense hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee last week, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth disclosed that the war with Iran has cost the United States about $37.5 billion since military operations began in February.

Hegseth appeared before lawmakers to defend President Donald Trump’s request for an additional $87.6 billion supplemental appropriation, of which $67.2 billion is earmarked for the Pentagon to continue military operations under Operation Epic Fury.

The broader package also includes funding for other domestic priorities, but the defence component attracted the most scrutiny as senators questioned the war’s cost, strategy and duration.

The hearing became contentious as both Republican and Democratic senators pressed Hegseth over the Pentagon’s spending plans, the pace at which precision-guided munitions are being consumed and whether the administration had a clear long-term strategy.

Lawmakers also questioned whether the United States could sustain the conflict without affecting military readiness for other global contingencies. (Daily Trust)

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