🇮🇷⚔️🇺🇸 The Pentagon has covered up the deaths of U.S. servicemen during the 3rd Gulf War

More American service members have died in the Middle East during the ongoing Iran war than the Pentagon has disclosed publicly, according to six U.S. officials familiar with the Defense Department’s internal casualty accounting data.

Five of the officials said there have been at least 22 military fatalities — four more than what appears in the Pentagon’s public database, known as the Defense Casualty Analysis System, or DCAS.

A sixth official, who like the others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the figures, said 23 service members have died since Feb. 28, when the Trump administration, in concert with Israel, initiated the Iran war. Not all of the undisclosed deaths are directly tied to the conflict but have involved U.S. personnel who were in the Middle East amid ongoing hostilities, this person said.

Additionally, the official said, three U.S. contractors who were based in the region have died since combat operations began.

As of Friday, the Pentagon’s DCAS database lists 18 U.S. military fatalities, including deaths caused by hostile and nonhostile action dating to the start of the Iran conflict.

Details surrounding the undisclosed deaths — including the service members’ identities, as well as when, how and where they died — remain unclear. Officials familiar with the higher casualty number expressed frustration that the additional loss of life is not reflected in the Pentagon’s public casualty portal.

🔗 https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/09/18/more-us-troops-have-died-amid-iran-war-than-pentagon-has-disclosed-publicly/

🇺🇸⚔️🇮🇷 CNN is able to corroborate a story by the Washington Post who revealed earlier that the Pentagon and CENTCOM spent $43.6 billion on the war with Iran and the ensuing operations to try and pry the Strait of Hormuz open with little to nothing to show for.

However, the CNN gives a slightly higher figure of $45.1 billion, the difference being extra fuel consumption related costs by the US Air Force and U.S. Navy to maintain the blockade on Iran.

🔗 https://edition.cnn.com/2026/09/18/politics/us-iran-war-cost

🇺🇸⚡️ — BREAKING: President Trump announced that CNN, MSNOW and Politico are being banned from the White House “effective immediately,” accusing the outlets of repeatedly publishing “FAKE NEWS.”

He said media organizations should not be able to repeatedly publish what he considers “FICTION and LIES” about his administration or the U.S., and warned that “other Fake News Media Outlets” is set to face similar action.

🇺🇸🇪🇺⚡️ — The U.S. has warned allies that deliveries of some critical weapons could face delays of up to five years as the Pentagon prioritizes rebuilding munitions stocks depleted during the Iran war, Bloomberg reports.

Several Eastern European countries have experienced delays since the start of the Iran war. Germany and Japan also have delayed orders.

The shortages are also affecting Ukraine. European leaders plan to lobby Trump for additional Patriot air-defense systems for Kyiv during next week’s UN meetings in New York.

EU officials also hope Washington will grant European countries licenses to manufacture Patriots themselves, some of which could eventually be supplied to Ukraine.

🇷🇺⚔️🇺🇦 Situation on the Dobropolye direction, Donetsk Oblast:

Over the last two weeks, both Russian and Ukrainian forces have been carrying out assault operations, each achieving some successes, while Russia continues to expand their zone of infiltration.

Following the arrival of reinforcements in the form of the reformed remnants of the 425th Assault Regiment "Skala" and 225th Assault Regiment, Ukrainian forces were able to regain some previously lost positions in and around Dobropolye. In the northeastern part of Dobropolye, they cleared the parts of the city previously infiltrated by Russian assault groups, as well as part of Annovka. Russian forces were pushed back beyond the forests east of Annovka to the dachas, where they are now launching attacks from, including deep DRG infiltrations towards the southern outskirts of Belitskoe.

South of Dobropolye, Ukrainian forces managed to clear parts of Krasnopodolye and Chernigovka (Krasnoyarskoe) from earlier Russian infiltrations, linking up with the Ukrainian strongpoints in Vodyanskoe and Svetloye, which are now largely empty of Russian soldiers. Russian forces continued attacks towards the Vodyanskoe agglomeration from the east and southeast, engaging in fighting for the mine east of Shevchenko and, as of yesterday, infiltrating the eastern buildings of the tactically important Belitska Mine. Fighting is also ongoing for the central and western parts of Belitska, where the Russians were previously unable to consolidate their positions, but are slowly clearing the city block by block.

Additionally, Russian forces managed to make some new advances west of Shevchenko, capturing a number of new treeline positions and infiltrating the villages of Dobropolye and Matyashevo. Due to the heavy destruction in Shevchenko, they are not focused on consolidating there, although there are no known Ukrainian positions in the main part of the village.

As a result of these advances west of Shevchenko, Russian assault groups have begun infiltrating even further north, entering the southernmost street of Dobropolye city and some adjacent industrial buildings. DRGs have moved even further, entering the park on the western outskirts of the city. Infiltrations into Dobropolye are also taking place from the east along the railway line, where they are entering the southeastern-most part of the city.

Northeast of Dobropolye, Russian forces have continued their infiltrations north of Stepoe and Volnoe after failing to consolidate their earlier captured positions. The grey-zone here is rapidly growing in size on both sides, with large areas simply being empty of soldiers from either side. Nevertheless, some isolated DRG infiltrations into Zolotoi Kolodez and the Novotroitske area, as well as assault group infiltrations into Gruzkoe and Vesyoloe (which were later cleared) were recorded. Russia was able to slightly improve their positions northwest of Shakhovoe and captured the remaining positions south of Novomykolaivka, and are continuing to infiltrate into the clay quarries from the latter.

🔗 AMK Mapping

🇷🇺⚔️🇺🇦 Situation on the Konstantinovka direction, Donetsk Oblast:

Over the last few weeks, the intensity of fighting in the Konstantinovka direction has slightly decreased, although Russian forces have managed to make additional advances in multiple different areas.

In the west, Russian forces marginally advanced west of Petrovka and continued infiltrations into the village. Infiltrations are also taking place into the villages of Raiskoe and the fields to the south. Other assault groups continue attacks on the Ukrainian salient southwest and west of Nikolaypolye.

To the east, Russian forces continued their attacks through the treelines northwest of Kostyantynivka, entering the village of Osykovo and the western part of Alexeyevo-Druzhkovka, while the intensity of fighting in Konstantinovka has reached an all-time low. North of Konstantinovka, Russian forces are infiltrating the village of Izhevka and nearby areas, while DRGs were able to reach Kurtovka. Infiltrations are also taking place into the villages of Popasnoe and Stenky, which both remain in the grey-zone for now.

To the northeast, the Russians cleared the remaining Ukrainian positions in the treelines east of Novodmitrovka and captured the rest of Chervonoe. They also advanced through the fields southwest of Maiskoe, recapturing numerous previously-lost positions along the tactical heights, and entered the eastern part of Verolyubovka along with the railway line to the south. Additionally, the Russians improved their positions in the treelines north of Markovo and expanded their zone of infiltration in the forests northwest of Fyodorovka.

🔗 AMK Mapping

🇷🇺⚔️🇺🇦 Situation on the Slavyansk direction, Donetsk Oblast:

Over the last two weeks, the intensity of fighting on the Slavyansk direction has slightly decreased, although Russian forces have managed to make new advances in multiple different areas and expand their zone of infiltration.

In the south, Russian forces cleared some treeline positions north of Yurkovka and intensified their attacks along the Seversky-Donets Canal into the village of Orekhovatka. Other assault groups are supporting this operation by infiltrating the forests north of the village. Additionally, Russian infiltrators have expanded their zone of operations west of Orekhovataka, while other forces entered the entirety of Zapovidnoe (Nikonorovka) and expanded their zone of infiltration northwest of the village.

To the northeast, Russian forces cleared the salient north of Ray-Alexandrovka, establishing control over a number of Ukrainian fortifications. As a result, they have been able to intensify their infiltrations into the Nikolaevka area, infiltrating the southern streets of the city and the surrounding forests, as well as the eastern high-rise residential buildings.

To the north, the Russians cleared the salient west of Kalenyky, capturing a number of fortifications and forested areas along the railway heights, and entrenching along a treeline leading from the northwestern edge of the large forest. Other assault groups continue deep infiltrations from Pyskunovka to the northern and northeastern edges of Nikolaevka, where fighting continues with Ukrainian forces. However, the arrival of Ukrainian reinforcements has somewhat stabilised the situation in Nikolaevka for now, with Russian forces seemingly being unable to achieve any consolidation within the city itself.

🔗 AMK Mapping

🇺🇸🇩🇰🇬🇱⚡️ — BREAKING: President Trump says the U.S. has reached an agreement with Denmark and Greenland granting Washington permanent authority over U.S. security requirements in Greenland, while leaving Greenland under Danish sovereignty.

Trump described it as an “Infinite Life” agreement with “no end,” saying the U.S. will have the ability to take measures it considers necessary to defend Greenland and the U.S.

He also said no U.S. adversary will be permitted to establish a military presence, operate a base or make sensitive investments in Greenland without U.S. approval.

He says the agreement will come at “NO COST” to the United States, and Washington will immediately begin developing a larger military presence in Greenland, working with Greenlanders on construction and development.

Trump called the agreement “historic” and a “dream come true for the United States.”

🤖 🇺🇸 🇨🇳 The US "almost started a war" against China, nearly launching an operation against a Chinese ship in the Middle East this spring, in the midst of the Iran war, after an AI-generated intelligence report falsely identified the vessel as carrying nuclear weapons components, with armed US personnel preparing to board and military aircraft already in the air before officials found the report had been produced with a chatbot, per CNN.

A special operations command analyst had used a chatbot to fuse open-source material with classified signals intelligence, then used AI again to package the result into a standard intelligence report and circulated it across the US military.

https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/18/politics/us-military-ai-false-intelligence-china-ship

📎 The Hormuz Letter

🇺🇸🇷🇺🇮🇷⚡️ — NEW: President Trump has signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 into law.

The bill expands statutory sanctions, tariffs, and prohibitions on Russia and extends existing sanctions on Iran.