Pentagon Rejects New York Times Report on Undisclosed War Casualties in Iran, Calling Allegations ‘Outright Lies’ | Today’s news
The US Department of Defense has strongly rejected a New York Times report alleging that the Pentagon withheld information about injuries sustained by US soldiers during recent Iranian attacks, calling the claims “baseless”, “malicious” and “an outright lie”.
The dispute comes as the conflict between the United States and Iran continues to escalate, with both sides trading blows across the Middle East.
Pentagon: “Unsubstantiated and malicious allegations”
Sean Parnell, US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, issued a strongly worded statement on X defending the Pentagon’s handling of casualty information.
Quick answers to key questions
•5 QUESTIONS
The New York Times reported that the Pentagon withheld information about injuries suffered by American soldiers during the Iranian attacks, including claims of earlier attacks that injured dozens of service members.
The Pentagon called the New York Times’ allegations “baseless” and “malicious”, saying that information about the casualties was publicly available and that the claims were aimed at undermining confidence in the US military.
The Pentagon says injuries to service members are not always publicly reported, especially if the personnel return to duty quickly, as allowed by U.S. Central Command policy.
Sean Parnell defended the Pentagon’s transparency, saying it was “the most transparent War Department in history” and stressed that casualty information was regularly updated through official channels.
The Pentagon argued that citing injury numbers without context, such as the inclusion of minor injuries from routine training, presented a misleading picture of military operations.
“The War Department rejects these baseless and malicious allegations of concealment of casualty numbers as outright lies from partisan hackers at the New York Times who are desperate to smear the US military and its leadership.”
Parnell accused the news channel of trying to undermine confidence in the US military following the deaths of three US service members.
“The claims of cover-up are fabrications to further alarm the American people in the wake of three service members killed in action. Disgusting behavior, even for the New York Times.”
“Information about victims is publicly available”
A Pentagon official insisted that information on military casualties is publicly available through official government channels.
“In fact, US military casualty information is publicly available and regularly updated online on the Defense Casualty Analysis System for anyone, including the media, to view.”
Parnell argued that citing casualty figures without context presented a misleading picture of military operations.
“Injuries in the military include everything from minor sprained ankles during routine training to incidents completely unrelated to combat operations. Taking raw numbers without context intentionally creates a misleading and incomplete picture.”
The Pentagon defends transparency
Parnell also defended the department’s overall transparency during the conflict.
“Our troops execute the president’s orders with excellence, supported by superior training, equipment and medical care that prioritizes safety.”
He added: “This is the most transparent War Department in history.”
In a direct attack on the news channel’s reporting, Parnell said: “We call on the so-called journalists who wrote these lies, one of whom was recently subpoenaed for alleged violations of federal criminal law, to stop smearing the best military force on Earth.”
As reported by the New York Times
The New York Times reported that Iran had carried out three attacks against US forces in Jordan in the week before Friday’s missile and drone attack that killed two US soldiers and left another service member missing.
Citing unnamed US officials, the portal said three earlier attacks wounded dozens of US soldiers and damaged several military helicopters.
The report said: “These attacks injured dozens of US service members and damaged several helicopters.”
However, it claimed that the Pentagon had not publicly disclosed these earlier attacks or the number of casualties.
“But the Pentagon has not disclosed the earlier strikes, or the casualties and damage they caused.
Read also | Jordan becomes new flashpoint in US-Iran war as military death toll rises
Why injuries must not be reported
According to the report, US Central Command (CENTCOM) is not required to publicly announce injuries to service members, especially when personnel return to duty quickly.
The news outlet quoted a US military official as saying, “Central Command does not have to release information about injured service members, especially when they return to duty quickly.”
The report also cited US officials as saying that CENTCOM had stopped reporting the number of Iranian targets we hit each day.
“Central Command has also stopped reporting how many places in Iran it will strike each day for the same reason.”
Military strategy questions
The New York Times further reported that the Pentagon has provided limited public information about the broader US military campaign against Iran.
It noted that the last major Pentagon briefing on the conflict took place in early May and argued that the Trump administration had not disclosed how the war had affected America’s stockpile of advanced weapons or Iran’s ability to restore its missile capabilities.
Read also | Iran War Lowest Popularity in America Since Polls Began
