Pentagon Withheld Dozens of U.S. Military Injuries in Iran War

Central Command is not required to release information about injured troops, especially when they quickly return to duty, a military official said.

<MEDIA>@static.nytimes.com

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth earlier this month. More than 400 U.S. service members have been injured in the Iran conflict, according to U.S. Central Command.Credit...Alex Kent/The New York Times

By Eric Schmitt

Eric Schmitt covers the U.S. military.

July 20, 2026Updated 11:29 a.m. ET

In the week leading up to the Iranian attack on Friday that killed two U.S. soldiers and left one service member missing in Jordan, Iran carried out three other strikes against U.S. forces in the country.

Those attacks injured dozens of U.S. service members and damaged several helicopters, according to several U.S. officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters.

But the Pentagon did not disclose the earlier strikes, nor the casualties and damage they inflicted.

The episode is the latest example during the Iran conflict of the tension between what the Pentagon says is the need for operational security and the government’s obligation to inform the public about the conduct of the war.

In statements after airstrikes against Iranian military sites last week, U.S. Central Command said it was retaliating for Iran’s attacks against commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, never mentioning Iran’s strikes on bases in the region, including in Jordan.