Dozens of US troops were wounded in three Iranian strikes on American positions in Jordan in the week before Friday’s attack that killed two US service members and left another missing, according to a report by The New York Times. The newspaper reported on Monday, citing multiple officials, that the earlier attacks also damaged several US military helicopters but were never publicly disclosed.
Last week, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it had launched retaliatory strikes against Iranian targets linked to attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, but it did not mention the strikes on US forces in Jordan.
According to The New York Times, the undisclosed attacks have raised questions about the balance between operational security and the Pentagon’s responsibility to inform the public about developments in the conflict.
Pentagon officials told The New York Times that many of the injuries were not severe and that releasing details about wounded troops could provide Iran with information useful in targeting bases where thousands of American personnel are stationed.
The report comes after First Lieutenant Tyler James Feehan, 25, and Private Isabella Gonzales, 19, were killed in an attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan on Friday. They were the first US troops killed in the conflict with Iran since March, bringing the reported US military death toll to 17.
US Central Command is also working to determine whether human remains recovered near the air base belong to a third soldier who remains listed as missing.
Another US service member was killed in northern Iraq on Saturday during the controlled detonation of an unexploded Iranian drone. The Pentagon has not publicly identified the soldier.
According to the report, more than 400 US troops have been injured since the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on 28 February. The Pentagon has not updated the overall number of wounded in recent weeks.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell rejected suggestions that the military had concealed the incidents. “Claims of concealment are fabrications meant to further distress the American people in the wake of three service members killed in action. Disgusting behavior, even for the New York Times,” he said.
He added: “In fact, US military casualty information is publicly available and regularly updated online on the Defense Casualty Analysis System for everyone, including the media, to review.
“Injuries in the military encompass everything from minor sprained ankles during routine training to incidents entirely unrelated to combat operations. Cherry-picking raw numbers without context paints a deliberately misleading and incomplete picture.”
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday night that American forces had “hit them very hard again” in a fresh round of strikes against Iran following the deaths of the two soldiers.
Meanwhile, Iran launched explosive-laden drones targeting critical infrastructure in Kuwait on Monday morning, according to the Kuwaiti military.
Speaking to NewsNation on Sunday, Trump said he “couldn’t care less” if Iran no longer adhered to the peace agreement signed last month.
According to US officials, the latest American strikes targeted Iranian command centres, air defence systems, naval assets, coastal surveillance positions, and missile, drone and communications facilities.
The US says its operations are intended to reduce Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil transit route.
Fighting resumed last week after Washington accused Tehran of violating a memorandum of understanding by attacking oil tankers transiting the Persian Gulf.
The US Navy has also reimposed a blockade on Iranian ports and seized several Iranian vessels, according to the report.
One US official familiar with the operations told The Washington Post that “The US is planning for a wider war,” while cautioning that the expansion could be constrained by dwindling stocks of air-defence and long-range weapons, as well as operational limitations affecting the deployment of additional forces.