November 14, 2026 - New York – An award-winning news organization is challenging the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DOD) refusal to release public documents regarding the true number of casualties suffered by women and men of the United States armed forces in Operation Epic Fury, the military campaign launched against Iran in February. In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Friday, The Intercept is asking the court to compel the government to release documents requested through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regarding unexplained changes to DOD’s official casualty figures. The Intercept is represented by Democracy Forward in the case.
“For months, The Intercept has been working to determine the true number of U.S. military personnel who have been killed or injured in the Iran War. And for months, the Department of Defense has failed to give a clear answer,” said Ben Muessig, Editor-in-Chief of The Intercept. “The public deserves clarity and transparency from its government.”
On February 28, 2026, the Trump-Vance administration commenced Operation Epic Fury, a military campaign against Iran. According to Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS), nearly 900 U.S. service members have been killed or wounded in the war with Iran, including at least 21 who have died.
Those numbers fluctuated, however, prompting The Intercept to investigate and report on repeated, unexplained changes to DOD’s official casualty figures. On April 21, 2026, for example, the number of wounded-in-action service members listed in DCAS for Operation Epic Fury declined by 15 without public explanation. On October 9, 2026, after repeated inquiries from The Intercept, as well as from members of the House Armed Services Committee, DOD publicly corrected its count of U.S. service members who have died in the conflict to include deaths it had previously omitted.
To shed light on how DOD has counted, reported, and communicated about casualties among U.S. service members as well as financial costs related to the war with Iran, The Intercept filed a series of Freedom on Information Act (FOIA) requests asking for all logs, lists, reports, or other documents concerns the number of casualties of U.S. service members. Though the DOD acknowledged receipt of the requests, they have stopped communicating with The Intercept, and ignored the legal deadline for them to produce the requested information. The lawsuit issued today seeks to reveal the unreleased information.
“The American people deserve the truth from their government, especially about the true human cost of the military conflict with Iran,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “We are honored to work with The Intercept once again to hold our government accountable, and to fight for a democracy where a free press can report on important issues without interference or being unlawfully prevented from accessing public information.”
This is the second case in which Democracy Forward has represented The Intercept in a lawsuit seeking to compel compliance with the Freedom of Information Act. In June of this year, The Intercept sued the Department of Homeland Security to reveal withheld documents regarding increased surveillance and travel restrictions for protesters.
The case is The Intercept v. DOD and the legal team at Democracy Forward working on the case includes Daniel McGrath, Hart Wood, Ron Fein, and Robin Thurston.
Read today’s filing here.
Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.
Source: Democracy Forward Foundation
