‘Totally made up’: Hegseth blasts WaPo report claiming Pentagon undercounted Iran war deaths

WASHINGTON, DC: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Sunday, September 20, rejected a Washington Post report alleging that the Pentagon’s public tally does not account for all US military deaths connected to the ongoing Iran war.

Hegseth called the report “fake,” “a lie” and criticized the newspaper’s use of anonymous sources. The Post reported that five US officials had claimed that at least 22 service members had died, compared with 18 listed in the Pentagon’s public casualty database as of Friday, September 18. A sixth official put the figure at 23.

Hegseth calls Washington Post report ‘fake’ and ‘a lie’

When asked about the Washington Post report, Hegseth sharply rejected the newspaper’s findings and questioned the basis for the additional casualty figures.

“It's always anonymous sources with those jokers. The Washington Post doesn't have any credibility and hasn't had any for a very long time. I meant what I said. They hate the president more than they love the country. That's why we called them out as the fake news.”

Hegseth said the Pentagon would never attempt to hide the number of US military deaths.

“It's been right from the beginning. We never would, because of how much we cherish the lives of our service members, every single one of them. But even if we wanted to attempt to hide a combat death, we never would, and we never could. It's not something the United States of America does.”

Hegseth also rejected the report's claims, saying, “it's totally made up, it's fake, it’s a lie to try to make us look bad, the president look bad, and try to undermine the historic success that we've had in that conflict. It's a joke.”

He then criticized the state of journalism, saying, “it's unfortunate that that's what so-called journalism has descended.”

Hegseth had previously rejected the report shortly after its publication on Friday, September 18, writing in a post on X, “this is disgusting and fake. A complete lie, shame on the Washington Post, they’re worse than Iranian state media.”

What the Washington Post reported about Pentagon casualty figures

As of Friday, September 18, the Pentagon’s Defense Casualty Analysis System, or DCAS, listed 18 US military fatalities dating to the start of the Iran conflict. However, the Washington Post reported that five US officials familiar with the Defense Department’s internal casualty accounting told the newspaper that at least 22 US military personnel had died since the start of the Iran war. A sixth official put the figure at 23.

The Post reported that not all of the additional deaths were directly tied to the conflict, but involved US personnel who were in the Middle East amid ongoing hostilities. The newspaper also reported that three US contractors based in the region had died since combat operations began.

Details about the additional military deaths, including the identities of the service members and the circumstances surrounding their deaths, remained unclear in the report. The Pentagon declined to address questions about the reported discrepancy, according to the Post.

The Pentagon’s public database lists 14 fatalities under Operation Epic Fury, while four additional deaths are listed separately under “Overseas Operations.” The Post also reported that two service members who died in the Middle East since February while serving on missions unrelated to the Iran war were not reflected by name in the database.

Sgt. Devin Seibel died in Irbil, Iraq, on May 31 in a training accident, according to the Defense Department. The announcement said he was assigned to Operation Inherent Resolve. His name was not included among the Inherent Resolve tally in DCAS, according to the Post.

Maj. Sorffly Davius suffered an unspecified medical emergency in Kuwait and died on March 6. It remained unclear whether his death was tied to an Iranian attack. An announcement of Davius’s death said he had deployed under Operation Spartan Shield, a mission to partner with regional militaries.

The public casualty database also showed more than 820 US service members wounded in action since the Iran conflict began, according to the Post.

Hegseth's comments came after the Washington Post published its report on September 18, with the defense secretary challenging its account and defending the Pentagon's handling of military casualty figures.