Thursday, July 23, 2026
Vol. VIII
Est. 2019

The Mind Shield

News · Opinion · Politics · Analysis

Pentagon removes troops’ names from list of service members killed in Iran.

Pentagon removes troops’ names from list of service members killed in Iran.
Donald Trump salutes as a U.S. Army team carries the flag-draped remains of 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan at Dover Air Force Base on July 22, 2026. Photo : SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty

The Trump administration has removed the names of the most recent four U.S. service members killed in the war with Iran.

According to the New York Times, the Pentagon website originally listed 18 U.S service members as casualties in the war with Iran, but on Thursday, that number was reduced to 14.

The administration reportedly removed the names of the three service members killed last weekend as Iran retaliated for new US strikes with an attack on a base used by US forces in Jordan. The Pentagon also excluded another soldier who was killed during a controlled detonation of an Iranian drone at Erbil air base in northern Iraq.

Three military officials told the Times that the change reflected a decision to exclude four troops killed after Trump declared a ceasefire in April.

“One reason behind the change was that the Trump administration decided to remove four service members killed this past weekend from the list … because their deaths occurred after President Trump declared a cease-fire in the war in April,” the officials said.

However, Pentagon acting press secretary Joel Valdez disputed that characterization, telling the Times the change is due to “temporary data disruptions” and “anomalies.”

“The department attempted to explain the anomalies to The New York Times ahead of publication, but given their lack of knowledge in this area, they proceeded to write a non-story,” Valdez said, adding, “We remain committed to ensuring the utmost accuracy of all casualty reporting.”

The reported removal of the recent service members killed from the Pentagon list comes one day after Trump posted a chart appearing to brag about the lower death toll in his war with Iran compared to other wars, with the caption: “These are the real facts. REPORT THEM!”