The Pentagon never told the public that 70 American troops were wounded in a single day during President Donald Trump's Iran war, according to newly obtained records.
The War Horse obtained the records through a Freedom of Information Act request — a demand for government documents — covering the first six weeks of the war, from Feb. 28 through April 8.
The data logged more than 400 casualties in that window and included details the Pentagon's public system has never provided — each service member's branch, rank, injury type, and the date they were wounded, the War Horse reported.
Head trauma was the most common injury by far, accounting for at least 170 cases, according to the War Horse. Troops also suffered shrapnel wounds, broken bones, and smoke inhalation.
Army soldiers made up most of the casualties — more than 270 troops, roughly one-third of them reservists — along with 64 officers, the War Horse reported.
The single largest casualty day in the data came on March 18, roughly 24 hours after a U.S.-Israeli airstrike killed Ali Larijani, a senior Iranian political figure, the War Horse reported.
Seventy casualties were recorded that day, according to the data. More than two dozen were classified as resulting from enemy attack. The Pentagon never announced the toll.
Task & Purpose reported that the Pentagon revealed Saturday an overhaul of its Defense Casualty Analysis System — the official public database — pushing the total number of troops wounded or killed since February to 624, more than 200 higher than what had been publicly disclosed just days before.
Earlier that week, the Pentagon had scrubbed four soldiers killed in July from the official count and removed 65 injured service members from the tally, Task & Purpose reported.
The reason, experts say, traces to the War Powers Act — a 1973 law requiring the president to get congressional approval to continue military operations beyond 60 days. The Washington Examiner reported that the Pentagon split the war into two separate lists to reset that clock.
One list covers Operation Epic Fury, which the administration says ended July 7. A second, new list — "Overseas Operations" — picks up casualties after that date, the Washington Examiner noted.
"It would have made it look like it was extended after 60 days," Alex Plitsas, an Army veteran and Atlantic Council expert, told the Washington Examiner.
"The Pentagon is pretending there have been two Iran wars separated by a brief cease-fire," Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) wrote on X. "The reality: By going more than 90 days without congressional authorization, War Secretary Pete Hegseth is breaking the law and must be held accountable."
