Pentagon hid details of Iranian attacks on Jordan that wounded US troops

Days before an Iranian strike in Jordan killed two US soldiers and left another service member missing, American forces had already come under repeated attack. Over the course of a week, Iran launched three separate strikes on American positions in Jordan, injuring dozens of service members and damaging several military helicopters.

None of those attacks were publicly disclosed.

A report by The New York Times, citing multiple US officials familiar with the operations, says the Pentagon chose not to reveal the earlier strikes or the casualties they caused.

The previously undisclosed attacks came in the days leading up to Friday's Iranian strike that killed two US Army soldiers and left another service member missing in Jordan.

According to the report, the earlier attacks wounded dozens of American troops and damaged military helicopters stationed at US bases. Officials familiar with the incidents said the attacks were significant, but the Pentagon chose not to acknowledge them.

When US Central Command (CENTCOM) later announced retaliatory airstrikes on Iranian military targets, it said the operations were carried out in response to Iran's attacks on commercial shipping passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The military did not mention the earlier attacks on American bases in Jordan.

The omission has become the latest example of the difficult balance between operational security and accountability during wartime.

WHY THE PENTAGON KEPT QUIET

US military officials defended the decision, saying CENTCOM is not required to announce every injury sustained by American personnel, particularly when troops receive treatment and quickly return to duty.

Officials also reportedly argued that revealing details about successful Iranian attacks could provide Tehran with valuable intelligence, helping it assess the effectiveness of its ballistic missiles and drone strikes against US military installations across the Middle East, where thousands of American troops remain deployed.

For the same reason, officials said CENTCOM has also stopped announcing how many Iranian military sites it strikes during daily operations.

A WAR WITH FEWER ANSWERS

The report says information flowing from the Pentagon has become increasingly limited since a fragile ceasefire collapsed. The US military has offered only brief operational updates despite nearly five months of fighting, and the last major Pentagon briefing on the conflict was held in early May.

According to the report, the Trump administration has also provided little information on how the prolonged war has affected US military resources, including the consumption of expensive precision-guided weapons. Meanwhile, Iran has managed to retain and rebuild parts of its missile capability despite months of sustained US and Israeli strikes.

The issue of battlefield casualties has also become increasingly sensitive.

The deaths of two US soldiers in Jordan on Friday, along with another American service member killed in northern Iraq, have raised the number of US military personnel killed since the United States and Israel launched military operations against Iran on February 28 to 17, The New York Times reported.

Under Pentagon policy, the identities of fallen service members are released only after their families have been notified, while the names of wounded personnel are generally withheld.

DEATH TOLL CONTINUES TO CLIMB

In a statement issued on Saturday, CENTCOM said four American service members wounded in Friday's attack were taken to hospitals in Jordan before being discharged. It added that several others suffered minor injuries and had already returned to duty, but did not disclose the total number of troops wounded.

The statement also made no reference to the dozens of service members reportedly injured in the three earlier attacks.

Speaking briefly to NewsNation, President Donald Trump paid tribute to the fallen troops, saying they died "in service of our country." He also reiterated that the war's main objective remained "never allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon".

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a social media post, said the loss of the two soldiers would strengthen American resolve.

According to CENTCOM, more than 400 US service members have been injured since the conflict began. While the Pentagon regularly updated that figure during the early stages of the war, it has stopped issuing revised totals in recent weeks.

The report noted that previous US administrations also exercised caution while releasing information about battlefield casualties. During the Biden administration, however, the Pentagon generally disclosed the number of troops injured in attacks by Iran-backed militias on US bases in Syria and Iraq after families had been notified.

The conflict has also taken a heavy toll inside Iran. More than 1,700 Iranian civilians are estimated to have been killed since the war began on February 28.

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