Pentagon accused of orchestrating 'cover-up' of Middle East casualties

The Trump administration is wildly undercounting the casualties in the Iran war, alleged a new report by The Intercept on Wednesday.

"At least 15 U.S. troops were wounded Friday in an Iranian attack on a Saudi air base that hosts American troops, according to two government officials who spoke with The Intercept," said the report. "Hundreds of U.S. personnel have been killed or injured in the region since the U.S. launched a war on Iran just over a month ago."

"CENTCOM has sent outdated statements on casualty numbers, meanwhile, resulting in undercounts, including a statement sent Monday from spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins noting that 'Since the start of Operation Epic Fury, approximately 303 U.S. service members have been wounded,'" the report continued. "The comment was three days old and excluded at least 15 wounded in the Friday attack on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia."

The Intercept sought updated figures from command, but did not get a response.

All of this comes as Trump, faced with a world-disrupting closure of the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for the strikes in Iran, is reportedly moving to cut bait on the war in a matter of weeks, regardless of whether he has a deal with Iran to reopen the critical shipping lane.

According to observers, U.S. allies are enraged at the possibility that Trump could abandon the war in this state, particularly since most of them weren't in favor of the war in the first place.