Trump And Pete Hegseth Link 9/11 Memorial To U.S. War Against Iran At Pentagon

At the Pentagon on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, U.S. President Donald Trump linked the commemorations to the ongoing U.S. military campaign in Iran, saying, "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."

“"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,"”

CBC

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also used the memorial to defend the war, declaring, "We’re still sending terrorists where they belong, to hell, and tankers to the bottom of the ocean, where they belong," as he spoke about the conflict that began on Feb. 28.

ADN Radio

The CBC reported that Trump and his wife, Melania, listened as the names of 184 people killed at the fortress-like headquarters after American Airlines Flight 77 was hijacked were read out on Friday.

The Guardian said Trump and Hegseth used the 9/11 memorial remarks to defend the US-Israel war on Iran, pointing to the conflict as part of the legacy of the worst terrorist attack in US history.T

The Al Jazeera account said Trump described what happened as "true evil" during his remarks at the Pentagon while also praising U.S. troops as he linked the attacks to the war against Iran.

While U.S. leaders defended the Iran campaign at 9/11 ceremonies, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei criticized the International Atomic Energy Agency, warning that it risks becoming a tool for war.

In a post on X, Baqaei said, "the line between technical oversight and laying the groundwork for military aggression becomes dangerously blurred," after the IAEA Board of Governors voted to refer Iran’s nuclear file to the United Nations Security Council.

Al Jazeera

The Tehran Times reported that the resolution was introduced by the United States, Britain, France and Germany and adopted on September 9 by 23 votes in favor, three against and eight abstentions, with Russia, China and Niger voting against.

Mehr News Agency quoted Baqaei saying, "the IAEA’s most valuable asset - its credibility as an impartial and independent authority - is being squandered," as he described a "profound institutional failure."T

The WANA News Agency similarly framed Baqaei’s argument that the agency must not become part of the pretext for war, citing his claim that the director general turned technical reporting into "political justification for warmongering."

The dispute over Iran’s nuclear file and the U.S. war messaging at the Pentagon unfolded alongside claims about how the conflict is being framed and justified in public life.

“the war would end “immediately after the election””

The Conversation

The New Republic described Trump’s 9/11 remarks as linking the attacks to bombing Iran, quoting Trump’s line that the Islamic Republic of Iran "will never, ever have a nuclear weapon," and noting that Hegseth also used the memorial to push war with Iran.

The Conversation reported that Trump told reporters the war would end "immediately after the election," while also describing how the conflict has been tied to control over the Strait of Hormuz and efforts to degrade the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ military capabilities.

The Conversation also said that Iranian officials claim a U.S. strike targeted a wedding ceremony near the Hormuz coast last week that killed four, while it described U.S. Navy sailors enforcing the blockade suffering from low morale.

In parallel, the BBC said Trump announced the U.S. has struck a deal to control more than 65 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, as it reported a wide range of other developments in the same period.