Intense reactions, allegations of legal violations, and a wave of anger from veterans and members of Congress have been sparked by the US Department of Defense's decision to reclassify casualties in military operations against Iran. The Pentagon's administrative "alchemy" to create a new category of victims—artificially separating the conflict to bypass the War Powers Act of 1973—leads to the practical "disappearance" of dead and wounded service members from official lists, causing an outcry over an attempt to conceal the true human cost of the war.
The big lie
More specifically, the Pentagon updated its official war casualties database over the weekend, adding more than 140 wounded military personnel. The Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) also introduced a new category of casualties labeled "Overseas Operations" for personnel killed and wounded "starting from July 7." According to the updated database, the official toll for the previous phase of the US-Iran war, known as Operation Epic Fury, now stands at 14 military personnel killed and more than 400 wounded in action. These figures became a subject of dispute after the Pentagon previously reduced the total numbers from 18 deaths and 482 wounded that had been recorded just a few days earlier. The dispute arises following the collapse of the ceasefire with Iran and the resumption of nearly daily airstrikes since July 6. Analysts and officials have questioned whether casualties from the renewed clashes should be counted separately from Operation Epic Fury, a move that would be unprecedented. The Trump administration seeks to characterize the renewed military campaign as separate from Operation Epic Fury, the US military's official designation for the conflict in Iran. 
The change is linked to the War Powers Act of 1973, which requires the president to terminate military operations within 60 days unless Congress approves an extension. The Trump administration argued that the April ceasefire with Iran "froze the clock" on May 1 for the initial period of the conflict. The separate counting of casualties starting on July 7 follows this legal interpretation. This change became evident earlier this week when the Pentagon's official online list of military service members killed in the ongoing war in Iran did not include the four soldiers who died during the renewed clashes over the weekend. Their names, however, were included in a Pentagon press release announcing the official transfer of their remains back to the US on Wednesday. Combined with the updated totals from Operation Epic Fury, the new Pentagon data shows that 18 American soldiers have been killed and 624 have been wounded since the US launched the war against Iran on February 28.
Reactions in Congress
Lawmakers from both parties have questioned the administration's interpretation regarding the timeline of the War Powers Act. Thomas Massie, a Republican representative from Kentucky, responded to the updated figures with a post on X, writing: "Let me explain this absurd gimmick: The Pentagon is pretending there were two wars with Iran separated by a brief truce. The reality: Exceeding 90 days without Congressional approval," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth "IS VIOLATING THE LAW and must be held accountable."
Veterans furious
"It is so disrespectful to the families," said Michael E. Smith, a retired US rear admiral and founder of the organization National Security Leaders for America. "To claim that they were not killed as a result of the war—but that it was merely 'overseas operations'—is simply ridiculous." Four members of the US armed forces killed in action by Iranian forces fall under the Pentagon's new... category for casualties in Iran: Second Lieutenant Tyler James Feehan, Private Isabella Gonzales, Sergeant Angel S. Rampersad, and Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton. "I definitely believe that this is not just an issue of numbers, but of accountability," said Tristeza Ordex, a US Marine Corps veteran and national organizer for partnerships and engagement at VoteVets.
"When I was deployed to Afghanistan, I remember attending ramp ceremonies," she said, referring to a memorial service for a fallen soldier before their casket is loaded onto an aircraft to return home. Gonzales, 19 years old, was from Carrollton, Texas, near Ordex's home outside Dallas. Gonzales had not even been born when Ordex first enlisted in 2004. "When I think about it now I get emotionally charged, thinking about how we have people returning home right now... 19 years old," she said. "I think about people like her who are excluded. Not only are Latinos excluded from so many things and targeted: We have this individual who made the ultimate sacrifice for this country and is not even recognized as a victim of this war, so it feels like erasure from memory." Smith, who completed combat tours in Iraq, Bosnia, and Kosovo, likened this administrative change to the manipulation of Pentagon casualty data that had last appeared during the Vietnam War.
"It is so disrespectful to the members of our armed forces who gave their lives, and the only reason they died was because Donald Trump decided to conduct this illegal war," Smith stated. "I mean, it's glaringly obvious that the President is very sensitive about deaths. You know, he compares them to Korea and Vietnam." "Obviously their boss doesn't want to hear about deaths. So okay, here's a way we can make it look like there aren't so many deaths."
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