Iran Missile Hit Hormuz Ship, Wounding Eight U.S. Marines

Eight U.S. Marines were wounded on September 14 when an Iranian cruise missile struck the ship they were crossing the Strait of Hormuz on. The Pentagon said nothing about it at the time.

The injuries, which included smoke inhalation and possible traumatic brain injuries, appeared in the Defense Casualty Analysis System about ten days after the attack. Seven enlisted Marines and one officer were affected. All returned to duty.

NBC News broke the story on September 28. Iran's state media described the incident as warning shots rather than a strike; U.S. sources did not confirm that account. The identity of the ship was not released.

September was one of the costliest months for U.S. military personnel in the strait. Task & Purpose tallied 29 sailors and 9 Marines wounded during the month. The eight Marines marked the first injuries to that branch since March, and more than doubled the Navy's wounded count since July 7. The Pentagon's total across the Iran conflict stood at 861 as of September 28.

The September 14 incident fits a pattern of escalation that month. Nine days later, three ships were struck near Hormuz in a single day, including the Cape Dao off Oman's Musandam, where one crew member was killed and 27 others were evacuated. By late September, Iran's published list of non-compliant ships in the strait had reached 81, with 19 claimed targeted in two nights.

Qeshm County, which sits inside the strait's northern edge, is one of the most-watched regions on MarineRadar, with over a hundred users tracking ship traffic through the chokepoint on any given day.