Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has claimed that more than 200 US service members were killed during the 15-day conflict with the United States, rejecting official Pentagon casualty figures as inaccurate.
Speaking to Iran's Tasnim News Agency, IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebi said Iranian retaliatory strikes inflicted far heavier losses on US forces than Washington has acknowledged.
"The number of American casualties during the retaliatory Operation Victory 2 exceeds 200, and the number of wounded is significantly higher," Mohebi said.
He accused the Pentagon of concealing the true extent of US losses and challenged Washington to allow journalists access to military bases targeted by Iranian missile attacks.
Mohebi claimed that Operation Victory 2 targeted eight US military bases and that Iranian missiles struck as many as 20 facilities and aircraft hangars at one location.
According to the IRGC spokesman, the attacks destroyed 11 US fighter jets and helicopters, 17 reconnaissance and operational drones, one F-15 fighter jet, one P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, one C-17 transport aircraft, and eight aerial refueling aircraft.
The Pentagon had previously said 18 US service members were killed during the conflict, though subsequent international media reports indicated the official death toll had been revised to 14.
The United States has not publicly responded to Mohebi's latest claims, and Reuters has not independently verified the casualty figures or the reported destruction of US military equipment.
The conflict began after joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran and escalated into nearly two weeks of reciprocal attacks across the Middle East before a ceasefire was reached.
