President Donald Trump has linked the United States’ ongoing conflict with Iran to the country’s response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, saying the US must continue fighting against terrorism and threats to its security.
Trump made the remarks on Friday during a 9/11 anniversary ceremony at the Pentagon, where he paid tribute to the victims of the attacks. He did not attend the main commemoration in New York, where most of the 2,977 people killed on September 11 lost their lives.
Trump was accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump at the Pentagon ceremony, where a bell was rung in memory of the 184 people killed when one of the hijacked aircraft struck the building.
Speaking at the event, Trump said the United States would continue to remember the victims and remain committed to defeating those he described as threats to the country.
“Today we renew the sacred oath that we first swore in their names a quarter of a century ago. We will never, ever forget. That’s why we fight today,” Trump said.
“We don’t have a choice. There can only be victory. We fight hard. We fight to win,” he added.
Trump subsequently connected the US-led fight against Al-Qaeda following the September 11 attacks to the current war involving Iran, which has now entered its seventh month.
“Today we salute every member of the United States military who served in the ‘War on Terror.’ It is a war on sick, horrible terror,” Trump said.
“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.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also used his address at the Pentagon to criticise Iran and praise US military personnel involved in the conflict.
“Over the past six months, we have laid waste to the world’s most prolific state sponsor of terrorism. Our warriors have fought an Islamic theocracy that has wished us death for nearly half a century,” Hegseth said.
The conflict with Iran has reached a stalemate, with Tehran continuing to maintain control over much of the Strait of Hormuz. The situation has contributed to elevated oil prices despite intermittent exchanges of fire between Iranian and US forces.
Trump also used his speech to address domestic political divisions, appearing to criticise Democrats and other opponents he described as “fanatics”.
He said the response to the September 11 attacks should not be viewed only through military action overseas, but also through the conduct and values of Americans at home.
“A generation after 9/11, we also know that the final response to those atrocities and the ultimate victory over the perpetrators will not be found on a foreign battlefield,” Trump said.
He recalled the story of a firefighter who died during the attacks and whose son later served as a US Navy veteran, using it to argue that America should celebrate heroes rather than political extremism.
Trump said the story demonstrated “we can be a nation whose heroes are not fanatics for an abstract cause.”
His comments came two days after a Republican convention for the US midterm elections, where Trump and Vice President JD Vance accused Democrats of sympathising with those responsible for the September 11 attacks.
At the convention, Trump had also criticised what he described as far-left political figures.
“With your vote in this election, you can tell these far-left lunatics and fanatics that America is not for sale to them or to anybody else.”
Republicans at the gathering repeatedly criticised Democratic Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed over previous social media posts concerning the September 11 attacks.
Source: AFP
