NBC: Eight U.S. marines wounded by Iranian missile in Hormuz — September 14 attack kept secret for two weeks

Eight U.S. marines were wounded on September 14 when an Iranian cruise missile struck the naval vessel they were operating in the Strait of Hormuz, NBC News reports, citing three U.S. officials. Seven of the wounded are enlisted marines and the eighth an officer; all were serving with a battalion landing team at the time of the strike.

According to officials cited by NBC, none were seriously wounded, but all eight suffered smoke inhalation and possible signs of traumatic brain injury, including persistent headaches. All returned to duty shortly after the attack. Officials declined to identify the type or flag of the vessel struck, saying only that it was not a U.S. Navy warship but simply a “naval vessel.”

The incident was never made public by the Pentagon when it happened, and details emerged nearly two weeks later. The wounded were entered into the Pentagon’s official casualty database (DCAS) nearly ten days after the September 14 strike; a U.S. official attributed the delay to symptoms appearing days later and the system’s lack of real-time updates. As of Wednesday, DCAS had recorded 861 U.S. service members wounded during the entire conflict.

The belated discovery of the attack deepens scrutiny of how the Pentagon has reported casualties since the start of the U.S.–Israel–Iran war in February. Just last week the Pentagon added 37 wounded service members to the official tally — 29 sailors and the eight marines from this attack — without any explanation of the circumstances. A Fox News correspondent had reported earlier in September that a “U.S.-contracted” vessel had been hit by an Iranian munition near Hormuz, wounding American personnel; NBC has now confirmed that marines were aboard.

The attack comes as U.S. forces make intensive efforts to keep commercial traffic moving through the southern part of the strait, with more than 10 million barrels of oil per day now passing through Hormuz — a significant recovery after months of low traffic.