Close to 100 American service members have sustained varying degrees of injury since July 7, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed in a post on social media on Monday.
The statement served to counter a report by The New York Times alleging that defense officials withheld information regarding dozens of U.S. casualties resulting from the conflict with Iran.
“While nearly 100 service members were deemed to have some degree of injury since July 7, 2026, 96% have returned to duty. They are determined to get back in the fight. The vast majority of injuries experienced were minor concussions," Parnell said.
The reporting indicated that a wave of strikes preceded a fatal incident last Saturday, which left two US soldiers dead and another unaccounted for in the region.
Multiple military helicopters also incurred physical damage during several attacks last week - details that had not been previously disclosed to the public.
Addressing the reporting timeline, a US military official clarified that standing protocols do not require US Central Command to publicly announce non-fatal injuries as long as those personnel have fully resumed their duties.
Responding to a Monday afternoon CNN report noting a delay in military disclosures, Parnell explained that withholding real-time casualty updates is an operational strategy designed to safeguard the more than 50,000 American troops deployed across the Middle East.
“Providing real-time information on non-fatal casualties to the media is the same as providing that information directly to our adversaries, which could put even more service members at risk with access to that quick information," Parnell said in a statement.