War Secretary Pete Hegseth used the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks to deliver a blunt message about the threats still facing America—and to defend the ongoing war with Iran.
Twenty-five years after hijackers crashed American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon, killing 184 people, War Secretary Pete Hegseth stood at the same building and declared that the fight against Islamist terrorism is far from over.
“On that day, many Americans were ignorant of the Islamist threat that we face,” Hegseth said Friday at the Pentagon’s 9/11 memorial ceremony. “But 25 years ago, at this very hour, it was no more because history was not over. It’s never over. The struggle against evil continued and it continues now”.
“It will continue until Judgment Day,” he continued. “Our only answer here on Earth is eternal vigilance. That indeed is the price of freedom”.
The Threat Hasn’t Gone Away
Hegseth’s remarks were a direct rebuttal to any suggestion that the post-9/11 era has ended. A quarter-century later, he argued, America still faces adversaries “determined to weaken the country and target its people.”
“There are still enemies who hate us every day,” he said. “Every day, enemies plot to curb our power and kill our citizens, including from Islamic terrorists abroad and at home. But we are ever vigilant, especially this place, especially these people”.
His words carry particular weight at the Pentagon, where the scars of September 11 remain deeply felt. The building was one of three targets that day, alongside the World Trade Center and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
The Iran War: A Direct Line from 9/11
Hegseth used the solemn occasion to make the case for the Trump administration’s ongoing military campaign against Iran, which the State Department has long designated a state sponsor of terrorism.
“Over the past six months, we have laid waste to the world’s most prolific state sponsor of terrorism,” Hegseth said. “Our warriors have fought an Islamic theocracy that has wished us death for nearly half a century—that cheered on 9/11”.
The War Department says U.S. operations have targeted Iran’s missile infrastructure, defense industry, and naval forces. According to Hegseth, Iranian leaders have been killed, the country’s air defenses destroyed, and its naval forces devastated.
“We’re still sending terrorists where they belong—to hell—and tankers to the bottom of the ocean where they belong,” he said. “And we are ensuring that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. The economic pressure tightens every day. We control the strait. We will finish this fight”.
The reference to controlling “the strait” is almost certainly a nod to the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil passes—a chokepoint Iran has repeatedly threatened to close during the conflict.
The Top 1% Who Keep the Watch
Beyond the geopolitical messaging, Hegseth’s speech included a heartfelt tribute to the men and women in uniform—the “top 1% of Americans” who he said “still keep the watch.”
“We all sleep in peace because we know they stand ready,” he said.
And he invoked the memory of the fallen with a call to live up to their legacy.
“We honor the fallen of that day 25 years ago by living worthy of their legacy today, and for 250 more years”.
The Bigger Picture
Hegseth’s speech comes at a politically fraught moment. His approval rating hit a record low this week—just 32% of voters approve of his job performance, while 57% disapprove, according to a Quinnipiac University poll. The 9/11 anniversary offered him a rare platform to speak to the nation on solemn ground.
His decision to tie the memorial to the Iran war was not without controversy. Critics have accused the administration of politicizing a day meant for mourning and reflection. But for Hegseth, the connection is clear: the same ideology that drove the 9/11 hijackers is the one American forces are fighting in Iran today.
Whether that argument lands with a war-weary public remains to be seen. But on a day when the nation paused to remember nearly 3,000 lives lost, Hegseth’s message was unambiguous: the war on terror didn’t end. It just changed addresses.
What do you think? Was Hegseth right to tie the 9/11 anniversary to the Iran war, or should the day have been kept separate from politics? Let us know in the comments.
Leave a Reply