Trump uses 9/11 anniversary speech to promote Iran war, critics say

Trump Uses 9/11 Anniversary to Promote Iran War Policy

Publication Date: September 11, 2026

President Trump used his speech at the Pentagon on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks to promote his administration's military campaign in the Middle East.

"[W]e 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 scattered applause.

Trump's comments came shortly after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also used the 9/11 memorial event to push for continued hostilities with Iran.

"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."

Iran officially condemned the September 11 attacks in 2001.

Historical Context

Using the 9/11 attacks as justification for military action in the Middle East follows a pattern established over the past 25 years:

• President George W. Bush responded to Al Qaeda's attacks by launching decades-long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq
• The broader "war on terror" resulted in thousands of U.S. service member deaths and millions of civilian casualties
• Afghanistan's Taliban regime, initially pushed out by the U.S.-led campaign, has since returned to power
• Iraq has struggled to recover from the U.S. invasion, enduring insurgency and the rise of the Islamic State
• National security restrictions and mass surveillance have grown unabated in the U.S.

Current Conflict with Iran

The ongoing war with Iran has:

• Disrupted the global economy
• Killed 18 U.S. service members
• Caused up to 8,000 civilian deaths across the Middle East
• Wounded countless more

Periodic ceasefires have ultimately collapsed, with no end in sight.

Despite criticizing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan early in his political career—and later reversing those positions—Trump appears to be repeating the mistakes of those campaigns, risking an even worse quagmire in Iran.

Justice Department Prosecutor Resigns Amid Pressure to Charge Trump's Perceived Enemies

The Justice Department prosecutor leading the "grand conspiracy" case against President Trump's perceived enemies resigned suddenly on Thursday—and Trump has not commented.

Counselor to the Attorney General Joe diGenova was responsible for finding evidence to support Trump's baseless claims that investigations against him—from the 2016 probe into Russian election interference through Trump's federal indictments after leaving office—were part of a larger conspiracy.

DiGenova, formerly Trump's personal attorney, helped lead Trump's 2020 lawsuits alleging widespread election fraud, which he lost.

"I did resign today by letter to the attorney general. I said that it was a privilege and an honor to serve the president and the department, and I was very grateful," diGenova told the New York Post on Thursday.

Reasons for Departure

According to the Post's sources, the Trump administration began to lose confidence in diGenova, claiming he was:

• "Slow-rolling" indictments of Trump's perceived enemies, including former President Barack Obama, former CIA Director John Brennan, and former FBI Director James Comey
• Going down "rabbit holes"

After five months on the job, diGenova had not charged anyone.

"If you want indictments where there's no evidence, you have an ethical problem," he said, suggesting the investigation was fraught from the start.

DiGenova later clarified his comments to the Associated Press:

"There's plenty of evidence in all of these cases to prove the theories of prosecution. It just takes time to get there, and some people want to get there a little faster than others—and you can't do that."

The Justice Department and the White House have not commented on the resignation.

Also in the news:

• Trump Falls Asleep Onstage at September 11 Ceremony