Pentagon lowers official Iran war death toll, omitting four killed this month

Soldiers from the US Army in a simulated village during the Combined Resolve "Greywolves" exercise at the US military Hohenfels Training Area in Hohenfels, Germany, on Thursday, April 30, 2026. Alex Kraus | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesThe Pentagon lowered its official death toll for the Iran war to 14 from 18 in the space of a day, after the Trump administration removed four service members killed this month from the count, according to the defense casualty analysis system. The Pentagon's casualty database showed seven of the 14 total deaths were classified as "hostile." The New York Times reported the change in count earlier.Three military officials told the Times that the four service members killed this past weekend — three in Jordan and one in northern Iraq — were struck from the list because their deaths came after President Donald Trump declared a ceasefire in April. All of the deaths listed on Thursday U.S. time on the website, which said it was updated as of Wednesday, occurred in March.The Pentagon and the State Department did not immediately respond to CNBC's requests for comment. The acting press secretary for the Pentagon, Joel Valdez, attributed the change to "temporary da...