In late March 2026, a rumor circulated online that more Americans had been killed in the city of Chicago throughout the four weeks before the claim started spreading than had thus far been killed in action in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. The conflict began in late February and is at a ceasefire, as of this writing.
Social media users posted the claim on X (archived) and Facebook (archived), though it appeared to originate from self-described "conservative truth-teller" Erick Erickson. The "Christian broadcaster" posted a video to Instagram (archived) on March 25, during which he argued the media has exaggerated the peril facing U.S. soldiers regarding the war. At the end of the footage, he said:
More people have been killed in Chicago, Illinois, in the past four weeks than have been killed at war with Iran. You're not hearing that statistic. The media wants you to think we are losing, that it is a disaster. They want Donald Trump humiliated, and if it means cheering on the deaths of our soldiers, the media is willing to do it because they hate Donald Trump so much.
The rumor spread as Iran rejected an initial U.S.-proposed ceasefire deal in late March.
In short, the claim is true, according to U.S. Department of Defense and Chicago Police Department data.
It should be noted that the cited data is the best available as of this writing and may not reflect deaths that have gone unreported or are currently unknown.
On April 8, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan Caine held a news conference, viewable on YouTube. During the briefing, they discussed the two-week ceasefire with Iran that was negotiated after President Donald Trump posted threats to social media in early April 2026.
At the 22:25 mark, Caine confirmed that 13 soldiers had died since the United States launched Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28, 2026. U.S. Central Command cited the news conference as confirmation when approached for comment.
That number aligned with the figure news media outlets such as NPR and Al Jazeera previously reported, as well as those disclosed in news releases available to read on the U.S. Central Command and DOD websites. On March 28, The Associated Press reported that the number of U.S. service members injured in the Iran operation as of that date exceeded 300.
According to the DOD, a 14th service member succumbed to a non-combat-related medical condition "while on duty in Kuwait."
Comparatively, the Chicago Police Department's Public Safety Reports data from Feb. 23, 2026, through March 22, 2026 (three days before Erickson posted his video), recorded 34 murders in that four-week period. Data from March 2, 2026, through March 29, 2026 (four days after Erickson posted his video), also recorded 34 murders in that four-week span. The weekly data reports can be found, in order, here, here, here, here and here.
Snopes contacted the Chicago Police Department for confirmation on these figures but it did not immediately respond. It is important to note that the Public Safety Reports feature a disclaimer calling them "preliminary and subject to further analysis and revision."