'That's why we fight': Trump links 9/11 to Iran conflict

President Donald Trump said at the Pentagon on Friday that the United States would never forget the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and linked that memory to the fight against Iran. He said the country was continuing the war on terror 25 years later and also attacked domestic fanatics in an apparent swipe at Democrats. The Pentagon ceremony remembered the 184 people killed there when one hijacked jet hit the building.

Trump said the U.S. would never, ever forget the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

One of the hijacked planes hit the Pentagon, killing 184 people.

The attacks killed 2,977 victims at the World Trade Center, where presidents have often marked major anniversaries in New York.

Trump said the Islamic Republic of Iran is the world’s number one sponsor of terror and vowed it will never ever have a nuclear weapon.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. had laid waste to the world’s most prolific state sponsor of terrorism over the past six months.

Published Sep 12, 2026 12:40 am KST

Updated Sep 12, 2026 12:59 am KST

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a ceremony commemorating the 25th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks in the courtyard of the Pentagon, Friday, in Arlington, Virginia. The United States is marking the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when a group of al-Qaeda hijackers flew airplanes into the World Trade Center, Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people. Getty Images via AFP-Yonhap

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump vowed Friday that the United States would never forget the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and suggested the country was continuing the "war on terror" 25 years later by fighting Iran.

Speaking at the Pentagon after skipping the main 9/11 commemorations in New York, Republican Trump also hit out at domestic "fanatics" in an apparent swipe at Democrats.

"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 in a speech.

"We don't have a choice. There can only be victory. We fight hard. We fight to win," added the president, who was accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump.

One of the jets hijacked on 9/11 hit the Pentagon in Washington, killing 184 people who were remembered by a single bell tolling as their names were read out.

But presidents have previously marked major anniversaries by attending several sites including New York, where the majority of the 2,977 victims were killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center.

Trump went on to link the fight against Al-Qaeda launched by his Republican predecessor George W. Bush to the US-Israeli war on Iran which is now in 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."

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also lashed out at Iran in his remarks to the Pentagon ceremony.

"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 U.S. death for nearly half a century," Hegseth said.

The Iran war has slid into a stalemate with Iran largely maintaining its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, and keeping oil prices high, despite sporadic exchanges of fire with the United States.

Trump also turned to the domestic front, a day after a Republican convention for the U.S. midterm elections in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance accused Democrats of sympathizing with the 9/11 attackers.

"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.

Telling the story of a firefighter killed in the attacks whose son went on to become a U.S. Navy veteran, Trump said it showed that "we can be a nation whose heroes are not fanatics for an abstract cause."

In his speech to the Republican convention on Wednesday, Trump had used the same term: "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 convention repeatedly trained their fire on left-wing Democratic senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed over his previous social media posts about 9/11.

周五，唐纳德·特朗普总统在五角大楼表示，美国永远不会忘记2001年9月11日的恐怖袭击，并将这段历史与反伊朗战争联系起来。他表示，25年后，美国仍在继续反恐战争，并抨击了国内的极端分子，这显然是在暗讽民主党人。五角大楼的纪念仪式缅怀了在9·11事件中遇难的184人，当时一架被劫持的飞机撞向了五角大楼。

特朗普表示，美国永远不会忘记2001年9月11日的袭击事件。

其中一架被劫持的飞机撞向了五角大楼，造成 184 人死亡。

袭击造成世界贸易中心 2977 人死亡，而总统们经常在纽约纪念重大事件的周年纪念日。

特朗普称伊朗伊斯兰共和国是世界头号恐怖主义赞助国，并誓言伊朗永远不会拥有核武器。

美国国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯表示，在过去的六个月里，美国已经彻底摧毁了世界上最猖獗的恐怖主义国家支持者。

发布于2026年9月12日凌晨12:40（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年9月12日凌晨12:59（韩国标准时间）

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普周五在弗吉尼亚州阿灵顿五角大楼庭院举行的9·11恐怖袭击25周年纪念仪式上发表讲话。美国正在纪念2001年9月11日发生的恐怖袭击事件25周年。当时，一群基地组织劫机者驾驶飞机撞向世界贸易中心、宾夕法尼亚州尚克斯维尔和五角大楼，造成近3000人死亡。图片来源：Getty Images via AFP-Yonhap

华盛顿——唐纳德·特朗普总统周五誓言，美国永远不会忘记2001年9月11日的袭击事件，并暗示美国在25年后通过与伊朗作战继续进行“反恐战争”。

在缺席纽约 9/11 纪念活动后，共和党人特朗普在五角大楼发表讲话，抨击国内“狂热分子”，显然是在暗讽民主党人。

“今天，我们重申25年前我们首次以他们的名义宣誓的神圣誓言。我们永远不会忘记。这就是我们今天战斗的原因，”特朗普在演讲中说道。

“我们别无选择，只有胜利。我们奋力拼搏，誓要赢得胜利。”总统补充道，第一夫人梅拉尼娅·特朗普陪同他出席了会议。

9/11事件中被劫持的一架飞机撞向了华盛顿的五角大楼，造成184人死亡。人们通过一声钟响来缅怀他们，同时念出他们的名字。

但此前总统们曾多次前往包括纽约在内的多个地点，纪念重大周年纪念日。在世界贸易中心袭击事件中，2977 名遇难者中的大多数都是在纽约丧生的。

特朗普随后将他的共和党前任乔治·W·布什发起的打击基地组织的战争与美以对伊朗的战争联系起来，这场战争现在已经持续了七个月。

“今天，我们向每一位在‘反恐战争’中服役的美国军人致敬。这是一场打击病态、可怕的恐怖主义的战争，”特朗普说。

“我们向目前正在努力确保世界头号恐怖主义赞助国——伊朗伊斯兰共和国——永远无法拥有核武器的军人们致敬。”

美国国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯在五角大楼的仪式上也猛烈抨击了伊朗。

“在过去的六个月里，我们摧毁了世界上最臭名昭著的恐怖主义国家支持者。我们的战士与一个近半个世纪以来一直希望美国灭亡的伊斯兰神权政权作战，”赫格塞斯说。

伊朗战争陷入僵局，伊朗基本控制了霍尔木兹海峡，尽管与美国不时发生交火，但石油价格仍然居高不下。

在共和党召开中期选举大会的第二天，特朗普和副总统JD Vance指责民主党人同情9/11袭击者。随后，特朗普又将目光转向国内战线。

“在9/11事件发生一代人之后，我们也知道，对这些暴行的最终回应以及对肇事者的最终胜利，不会在外国战场上找到，”特朗普说。

特朗普讲述了一名在袭击中丧生的消防员的故事，他的儿子后来成为美国海军退伍军人。特朗普说，这表明“我们可以成为一个英雄不是为抽象事业而狂热的国家”。

特朗普周三在共和党大会上发表讲话时也使用了同样的措辞：“通过你们在这次选举中的投票，你们可以告诉这些极左的疯子和狂热分子，美国不会出卖给他们，也不会出卖给任何人。”

在大会上，共和党人反复抨击左翼民主党参议员候选人阿卜杜勒·埃尔-赛义德，指责他之前在社交媒体上发表有关 9/11 的帖子。