President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth tied the ongoing military conflict with Iran to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks during anniversary remarks at the Pentagon on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. Speaking on the 25th anniversary of the attacks, both officials characterized the current six-month-old war as a continuation of the effort to combat terrorism. Hegseth stated that the Iranian regime had "cheered on" the 2001 attacks and remains a threat to U.S. citizens.
The remarks were delivered at the site where 184 people were killed during the 2001 attacks, which left nearly 3,000 dead nationwide. While the original "war on terror" focused on al Qaeda and saw U.S. forces withdraw from Afghanistan in August 2021, the Trump administration has now positioned the Islamic Republic of Iran as a primary adversary in this framework. Trump told reporters earlier in the week that he expects the war with Iran to "end immediately" following the upcoming November midterm elections.
During the ceremony, Hegseth detailed U.S. military actions over the last six months, asserting that the U.S. has killed Iranian leaders, destroyed the country's air force, and eliminated its naval capabilities and defenses. "United States has killed their leaders, destroyed their air force, and their navy rests at the bottom of the sea," Hegseth said, adding that the U.S. currently controls the Strait of Hormuz. Trump echoed these sentiments, saluting service members working to ensure Iran "will never ever have a nuclear weapon."
For the American public, the cost of the conflict is tied to the administration’s strategy of "tightening" economic pressure, which historically influences global oil prices and household fuel costs. Trump's assertion that the war will conclude after the November midterms suggests that political timelines are influencing military operations. If the conflict does not end as predicted, it could lead to further congressional debates regarding military funding and the long-term deployment of the "top 1%" of Americans who Hegseth noted currently wear the uniform.
The framing of the Iran war as a continuation of the 9/11 "war on terror" sets a precedent for how the administration justifies military action. By linking a state actor to the 2001 attacks, the administration is seeking to maintain the legal and moral framework used for the last two decades of conflict. The next significant dates for this policy are the November midterm elections, which Trump identified as a turning point for the cessation of hostilities. In the interim, the White House stated the U.S. will continue to monitor "every move" made by Iran.