The Pentagon revealed Tuesday that approximately 140 U.S. service members have been wounded since the war with Iran began late last month, underscoring the growing human cost as the conflict continues to escalate.
Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the injuries have occurred during the first 10 days of what the military has called Operation Epic Fury, a campaign marked by sustained attacks and counterattacks between U.S. forces and Iranian-backed operations.
“Since the start of Operation Epic Fury, approximately 140 U.S. service members have been wounded over 10 days of sustained attacks,” Parnell said in a statement.
According to the Pentagon, the majority of those injuries have been classified as minor. Parnell said that 108 of the wounded service members have already returned to duty.
Still, not all of the injuries have been minor. Eight service members remain listed as severely wounded and are receiving what Parnell described as the “highest level of medical care.”
The updated numbers follow a report from Reuters that estimated roughly 150 American service members had been injured in the conflict.
When asked about that figure, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters the estimate was close to the Pentagon’s official tally.
“That’s within that ballpark,” Leavitt said, directing reporters to the Defense Department for more specific details.
The rising number of wounded troops comes as the United States has also suffered fatalities during the conflict.
Over the weekend, U.S. Central Command announced that a seventh American service member had died from serious injuries sustained during an Iranian attack on U.S. forces stationed in Saudi Arabia.
Earlier in the conflict, six additional service members were killed during an attack on a makeshift U.S. military operations center in Kuwait.
Those losses have highlighted the dangers facing American personnel as the war unfolds across multiple locations in the region.
Even as the casualty count grows, Pentagon leadership has signaled that military operations are set to expand.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters Tuesday morning that U.S. attacks on Iran would intensify as part of the ongoing campaign.
“Today will be, yet again, our most intense day of strikes inside Iran,” Hegseth said during a Pentagon briefing.
He said the military would deploy more aircraft and conduct more strikes than in previous days.
“The most fighters, the most bombers, the most strikes,” Hegseth said. “Intelligence more refined and better than ever.”
The defense secretary also said the United States is “winning” the battle so far, portraying the campaign as a successful effort against Iranian targets.
But the expanding operations come with mounting costs, both on the battlefield and in the federal budget.
A congressional source familiar with the situation told The Hill that the Pentagon burned through roughly $5.6 billion worth of munitions during the first two days of the war alone.
That early spending reflects the scale of the military effort underway and suggests the financial cost could grow significantly if the conflict continues.
President Donald Trump and Hegseth have both acknowledged that more casualties may occur as the war progresses.
For military families and communities with loved ones deployed overseas, the rising toll is a stark reminder that even conflicts fought with advanced technology still carry real human consequences.
Hegseth has also expressed frustration with how the war is being covered in the media.
Last week, the defense secretary criticized news outlets for placing the deaths of American service members on front pages, arguing that such coverage can overshadow the broader military mission.
Still, as the fighting intensifies and the number of wounded troops grows, the toll on American forces is becoming harder to ignore.
For many Americans watching events unfold, the casualty figures serve as a sobering counterpoint to battlefield updates and official claims of progress — a reminder that wars, no matter how carefully planned, rarely remain confined to strategy rooms and briefing podiums.
[READ MORE: Gun Discharge Reported at U.S. Consulate in Toronto as Regional Tensions Simmer]
