Trump and Hegseth use 9/11 memorial remarks at Pentagon to defend war on Iran

Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth used remarks at memorial marking the 25th anniversary of 9/11 to defend the US-Israel war on Iran – and suggest the controversial conflict was part of the legacy of the worst terrorist attack in US history.

While such ceremonies on September 11 typically focus on the victims of the 2001 attacks, the US president and his defense secretary each pointed to the war they launched on Iran more than six months ago, with no end insight.

“We salute every member of the United States military who served in the ‘war on terror’,” Trump said at the Pentagon, which was struck by a hijacked airliner, killing all 64 people onboard and 125 inside the building. “And we salute the service members working right now to ensure the world’s number one sponsor of terror, the Islamic Republic of Iran, will never ever have a nuclear weapon.”

The US president’s decision to stay in Washington has drawn criticism, while his vice‑president, JD Vance, traveled to New York for a memorial at Ground Zero, the site of the World Trade Center’s destruction on 9/11.

Closing out his speech, Trump also tried to draw a direct link between his war on Iran – which is vastly unpopular in the US, according to opinion polls – and the 9/11 terror attacks.

“Today we renew the sacred oath that we first swore in their names a quarter of a century ago. We will never, ever forget,” he said. “That’s why we fight today. We don’t have a choice. There can only be victory. We fight hard. We fight to win.”

Earlier, Hegseth, the US defense secretary, delivered a bellicose speech at the somber memorial. Noting that the Iran war was part of the fight against an “Islamic theocracy that has wished us death for nearly half a century”, he claimed that Iran’s defenses “are gone”, despite evidence to the contrary.

“We’re still sending terrorists where they belong – to hell,” declared Hegseth. “And tankers to the bottom of the ocean where they belong, and we are ensuring that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. The economic pressure tightens every day.”

Hegseth said at the ceremony: “The struggle against evil continued, and it continues now. It will continue until judgment day. Our only answer here on Earth is eternal vigilance.”

He also claimed the threat extended into US borders, warning that “enemies plot to curb our power and kill our citizens, including from Islamic terrorists abroad and at home”.

Hegseth went on to credit Trump with dismantling Iran’s military capabilities, and closed by calling for a new generation of “strong, brave warriors who will say when it matters most, ‘send me’”.