Six unnamed Pentagon officials told The Washington Post that at least 22 US service members have died since the conflict with Iran began on February 28. This figure exceeds the 18 fatalities currently listed in the Department of Defense's public casualty database. The Pentagon has declined to address the discrepancy between the official tally and the internal data provided by the officials.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth rejected the findings on Friday, calling the report a "complete lie" and "disgusting" in a public post. Hegseth characterized the reporting as "fake" and stated the news organization is "worse than Iranian state media" after the publication cited internal sources for the higher death toll.