Eight U.S. Marines wounded in undisclosed Iranian missile strike in Hormuz

According to three U.S. officials, an Iranian cruise missile hit a maritime vessel in the Strait of Hormuz on September 14, wounding eight U.S. Marines. Seven of the injured were enlisted personnel and one was an officer; none suffered life-threatening injuries, but they experienced smoke inhalation and symptoms consistent with concussions, raising concerns about possible traumatic brain injury. All eight returned to duty soon after the attack, which took place while they were serving with a battalion landing team and not aboard a Navy ship.

The Pentagon did not announce the strike at the time, and the casualties were entered into the Defense Casualty Analysis System roughly ten days later, contributing to a total of 861 service-member injuries reported in the war with Iran. The delayed reporting reflects the difficulty of tracking injuries that may not manifest immediately. The incident occurs amid a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports and frequent attempts by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to target ships in the region.