The Pentagon is facing mounting criticism for its growing secrecy surrounding the human and operational costs of the Iran war, with lawmakers, transparency advocates, and former military officials accusing the department of deliberately obscuring key information from the public.
Under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the department has reclassified the deaths and injuries of U.S. service members, declined to disclose how many targets were hit in recent airstrikes against Iran, and refused to hold regular press conferences. Critics argue these moves represent a systematic effort to limit accountability for a conflict that has now stretched beyond five months with no clear end in sight.
“It certainly feels like this is the least transparent Pentagon in recent memory, and basically every chance they have, they choose to make it harder for reporters and the public to get information that’s vital to the public interest,” said Clayton Weimers, executive director of the North American branch of Reporters Without Borders.
The controversy intensified after the Pentagon revised the number of U.S. service members killed during Operation Epic Fury from 18 to 14, while also removing dozens of wounded troops from its public casualty database. Defense officials described the changes as corrections to what they called the accurate tracker of overseas casualties, but the move drew immediate suspicion.
Last week, the Pentagon acknowledged “temporary data disruptions” on the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) website, saying the “anomalies are currently being resolved in coordination” with the military services. However, the department has now begun listing casualties under a new category labeled “Overseas Operations,” separate from the figures tied directly to Operation Epic Fury. This new category tracks deaths and injuries since July 7, when U.S.-Iran hostilities escalated, but it remains unclear whether the tally is limited to the Iran war, which began on February 28.
Combining the DCAS figures shows 18 service members killed and 642 wounded as of Tuesday evening, though defense officials say most of the injured have returned to duty. The fluctuating numbers prompted 12 Senate Democrats, led by Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, to demand answers from Hegseth about the handling of DCAS and to ask how many troops have been screened for concussions or traumatic brain injuries.
“Delays or inconsistencies in publicly reporting these casualty figures further impede Congress’s ability to conduct oversight and limit the public’s understanding of the operation’s costs,” the senators wrote in a letter Thursday. “This lack of transparency undermines confidence that military families and the American people are receiving a complete and accurate accounting of the sacrifices made by those serving in uniform.”
Jason Dempsey, a former Army officer who served as special assistant to the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, described the episode as evidence of “deep professional and moral cowardice” at the Pentagon. “It comes with no small amount of irony, given Hegseth’s complaints about the U.S. handling of the Global War on Terror,” Dempsey said. “I think a lot of GWOT veterans are at least hoping for the courage of a leader who will speak plainly and truthfully, and that’s not what these moves reflect.”
Lauren Harper, the Daniel Ellsberg chair on government secrecy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, argued that wartime is precisely when transparency should increase, not decrease. “It’s really when you need to be raising it the most,” she said. “Suggesting that basic transparency in that realm may threaten operational security really is insulting to all of us who just want to ensure that the Pentagon is acting responsibly, especially when it’s both financial and human lives at cost.”
The Pentagon defends its approach, arguing that limited disclosure is necessary for operational security. Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell stated that the department and U.S. Central Command have “consistently provided comprehensive, real-time updates to the world” on strikes and operations. He added that President Trump and Secretary Hegseth have been “constantly providing updates directly to the media and the American people online.” Some Republican lawmakers, including Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, have echoed that sentiment, though the broader backlash continues to grow.
