Eight U.S. Marines were injured earlier this month when the nonmilitary vessel on which they were embarked came under attack by Iranian forces, U.S. officials said. The incident, which had not previously been made public, resulted in minor injuries including smoke inhalation and head wounds.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter, did not disclose the name or type of the vessel, emphasizing only that it was not operated by the U.S. military. The attack occurred amid ongoing tensions between the United States and Iran, particularly over control and safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime chokepoint for global oil shipments.

Since early last year, the Trump administration has enforced a naval embargo of Iranian ports and assisted commercial tankers and cargo vessels navigating the strait. However, it had not previously acknowledged deploying American personnel aboard nonmilitary vessels in contested waters or directly exposing them to Iranian attacks.

The Pentagon declined to comment on the details of the assault. Spokespersons for the Pentagon, U.S. Central Command—which oversees military operations in the Middle East—and the Marine Corps all refrained from providing further information or confirming the incident publicly. The attack was initially reported by a U.S. news outlet on Sunday.

Last week, the Pentagon quietly updated its wartime casualty database to reflect a rise in the number of personnel wounded in the Iran conflict. The update included eight Marines and 29 Navy sailors, though the circumstances surrounding the sailors’ injuries were not disclosed. The Navy confirmed that all wounded personnel had returned to duty.

Since the conflict began on February 28, 2026, following a joint U.S.-Israel initiative, the Pentagon’s Defense Casualty Analysis System has recorded 861 U.S. troops wounded and 19 fatalities. However, discrepancies have surfaced regarding the total death toll, with officials acknowledging that as many as five fatalities may not appear in the public database, a gap that remains unresolved.

The use of U.S. military personnel aboard commercial vessels in the region is not fully transparent. In 2023, during the previous administration, plans were developed to deploy Marines on commercial ships to deter Iranian attempts to seize oil tankers, though final approval for this program had not been granted at that time. Marines also trained in Bahrain as part of preparation efforts overseen by Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command.

The recent attack highlights the risks faced by American forces involved in protecting commercial shipping amid a broader U.S.-Iran confrontation in the strategically vital waters of the Middle East.