President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth use the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks at a Pentagon memorial ceremony to argue that the United States’ current war involving Iran is connected to the broader “war on terror.” In their remarks, both officials frame the conflict as something the United States is still fighting today, echoing language tied to ongoing counterterrorism efforts.
The outlets report that, rather than limiting the ceremony to remembrance of the 9/11 victims, Trump and Hegseth directly address the rationale for the war on Iran. The Guardian describes the remarks as an attempt to defend a conflict that it characterizes as unpopular, while The Hill and the New York Post similarly note that Trump and Hegseth explicitly tie the Iran campaign to 9/11. Across the sources, the common focus is on the officials’ effort to connect the current military action to the legacy of the 2001 attacks.
No sources provide additional details here about specific policy decisions, troop levels, or military actions referenced during the ceremony, but they agree on the central point: the 9/11 anniversary is used to bolster the messaging for the war with Iran.
