US defense chief Hegseth slams Washington Post over Iran war death toll report

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth launched a sharp attack on a Washington Post report that questioned the accuracy of the US Department of Defense's official figures on American military casualties in the war with Iran, describing the article as "disgusting, fabricated, and a complete lie."

Hegseth's response came after the Washington Post published a report claiming that the number of US service members killed since the war began on February 28 exceeds the Pentagon's official tally. Citing five US officials, the newspaper reported that at least 22 troops had died, four more than the figure listed in the Pentagon's public database.

Hegseth denied the report's claims, writing on X: "This is disgusting and fake. A complete lie," in a direct response to the newspaper, insisting that its claims about the death toll were untrue.

The dispute over casualty figures comes as public data from the US Department of Defense records 18 military deaths since the start of the war, while the Washington Post report relied on officials who said the actual toll is higher than the officially published number.