More than 750 Americans have been wounded in the United States’ war with Iran, according to the Department of Defense (DOD).
Eighteen service members and 757 have been wounded in the war that was jointly started by the U.S. and Israel against Iran on Feb. 28, according to the DOD’s war casualty database, cited by CNN.
The human toll of the conflict comes as its financial cost increases, with the Pentagon pinning the direct cost of the military campaign at $37.5 billion. The administration has requested a $1.5 trillion defense budget from Congress, which includes a specific request for roughly $70 billion more to fund ongoing operations and naval blockades in the Middle East.
In July, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Senate Appropriations Committee lawmakers that not fully funding the Department of Defense (DOD) to the tune of $1.5 trillion is the “greatest threat” the United States faces at home and abroad.
Middle East Situation Remains Unchanged
The updated figures come as the conflict has intensified in recent weeks, and an interim deal agreed in June to end the fighting collapsed.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the U.S. has no planned talks with Iran. He said the Strait of Hormuz remains “open and operating,” despite limited traffic and a reported strike on a ship exiting the waterway. The strait was open prior to U.S. military intervention earlier this year.
On Wednesday, the president announced a “crushing economic operation” on Iran which he claimed would affect their war operations. Global crude rose to nearly $94 a barrel after his announcement. Iran dismissed it as a “diversion.”
Elsewhere, the United Arab Emirates suspended all trade with Iran on Wednesday after it said it came under ballistic missile fire. Iran denies these strikes.
Previous Recordings of Casualties
The data follows previous controversy about the department’s reporting on the number of deaths and injuries in the conflict.
In July, the Pentagon did not include four soldiers who died over the weekend in its official online list of service members who have been killed in the ongoing war.
The soldiers killed in Jordan were identified by the Defense Department as Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii; and Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas. The soldier who disappeared after the Jordan attacks is Angel S. Rampersad, 28, of Ozone Park, N.Y., DOD said.
Meanwhile, the soldier killed in Iraq was identified as Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, who lived in Spring Lake, N.C.
Joel Valdez, acting press secretary for the Pentagon, told the New York Times at the time that the data disparity was because of “temporary data disruptions” on the department’s casualty website. He said these issues would be fixed.
The new data shows that no new deaths have since been recorded.
Most Americans disapprove of the way Trump is handling the situation with Iran, according to recent polling.
A Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted in July found that a minority of Americans think the war in Iran is worth fighting, and most aren’t confident that the U.S. military action in Iran and negotiations to end the war will prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Read the full article here