Trump, Hegseth tie Iran war to 9/11 in speech at Pentagon

President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth tied the Iran war to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in their anniversary remarks Friday at the Pentagon, suggesting the conflict is a continuation of the war on terror.

“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,” Trump said to claps from the audience at the ceremony.

Hegseth, speaking ahead of the president, said the U.S. remains “vigilant.”

“Our warriors have fought an Islamic theocracy that has wished us death for nearly half a century, that cheered on 9/11,” he said. “A regime that has sponsored terrorist attacks against Americans for decades, killing thousands, including our comrades in Iraq and Afghanistan. But they did not factor in this president.”

“We’re still sending terrorists where they belong — to hell — and tankers to the bottom of the ocean, where they belong,” Hegseth added. “And we are ensuring that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.”

He reiterated that the U.S. controls the Strait of Hormuz and has destroyed Iran’s navy.

The global “war on terror” was declared shortly after the attacks in New York and lasted nearly 20 years, focusing on al Qaeda militants. The U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021.

Trump said earlier this week he sees the Iran war, which has already passed its six-month mark, lasting until the November midterm elections.

He said he thinks the war will “end immediately” after the election .

“They can’t hold out any longer,” Trump told reporters of Iran. “They’re desperate to try and affect the election so that we can get a nice, weak group of people in there, and leave them alone and let them have their nuclear weapon.”

However, a Wall Street Journal report from Thursday said that Iran has resumed production of ballistic missiles, contradicting Trump administration claims that the country’s military capabilities have been destroyed.

The White House told The Hill that the U.S. “is watching Iran and has eyes on their every move.”