Illustrative image. (Tasnim News Agency)
Eight United States Marines were injured when an Iranian anti-ship cruise missile struck a vessel they were operating on in the Strait of Hormuz on September 14, after repeated claims by President Donald Trump that American forces were in control of the strategic waterway.
The Marines were not seriously injured but suffered smoke inhalation and possible traumatic brain injuries after experiencing concussion-like symptoms, including headaches, NBC News reported on September 27, citing three U.S. officials.
Seven of those wounded were enlisted personnel and one was an officer, and all eight returned to duty shortly after the attack.
The report noted that vessel was not a U.S. Navy ship, and U.S. officials did not identify its type, referring to it only as a maritime vessel.
The Marines were operating as part of a battalion landing team when the missile struck, according to the officials. The eight were added to the Pentagon’s casualty database nearly 10 days after the attack, with a U.S. official saying symptoms can emerge later and that the system is not updated in real time.
The reported strike highlights the gap between Trump’s repeated assertions that Washington controls the Strait of Hormuz and the continued ability of Iranian forces to strike ships in the waterway.
Trump said on September 10 that the U.S. was “winning” the war with Iran and declared, “We control the Hormuz Strait,” while suggesting that the waterway should be renamed the “Trump Strait.” Later on September 26, he posted a map labeling the waterway “Trump Strait” and rejected an Iranian proposal that would have reopened the strait within seven days as part of a broader agreement to end the fighting.
The U.S. has maintained a naval blockade of Iranian ports during the war, while traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has remained far below prewar levels. Iran has sought to use control over access to the waterway as leverage in negotiations over the conflict.
The disclosure of the eight injured Marines also comes amid scrutiny over the Pentagon’s handling of U.S. casualties in the war with Iran.
The Washington Post reported on September 18 that at least 22 U.S. military personnel had died since the conflict began, four more than were listed in the Pentagon’s public casualty database at the time, citing five U.S. officials familiar with the Defense Department’s internal accounting.
A sixth official cited in the same report put the number at 23 and said some of the deaths were not directly caused by combat but involved U.S. personnel in the Middle East during the conflict.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth rejected the report, calling it “a complete LIE,” while the Pentagon declined to address the discrepancy in the casualty figures, Reuters reported.
The latest report adds another publicly undisclosed injury incident to the conflict’s casualty picture, and shows that Trump’s recent claims were not reflective of the reality of the situation in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran continues to maintain a tight grip on the waterway.
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