Trump takes advantage of the 25th anniversary of 9/11 to justify his war in Iran: "That's why we fight today"

The United States commemorated this Friday the 25th anniversary of 9/11 with two ceremonies separated by just over 300 kilometers and by a much greater difference in tone. In New York, family members pronounced one by one the names of those who were killed. At the Pentagon, Donald Trump used the tribute to defend the war against Iran and present the offensive as a prolongation of the fight against terrorism.

The Ground Zero ceremony began at 8:46 a.m., the exact moment when the first plane hijacked by Al Qaeda crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Around the two large pools that occupy the site of the Twin Towers, family members read 2,983 names, corresponding to the 2,977 victims of the 2001 attacks and the six people killed in the 1993 attack on the complex.

Vice President, JD Vance, represented the White House in New York. Former presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden also attended, along with the city's mayor, Zohran Mamdani. Trump, born in New York, chose the Pentagon event for the second consecutive year. His choice allowed him to deliver a speech, something that the organization of the Ground Zero ceremony has prevented political leaders from doing since 2012.

The New York commemoration included for the first time a seventh minute of silence dedicated to those who died years later as a result of cancer and other diseases related to toxic dust. The other six recalled the impacts against the towers and the Pentagon, the two collapses, and the crash of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Al Qaeda killed 2,977 people that September 11. A total of 2,753 died in New York, 184 at the Pentagon, and 40 aboard Flight 93. Among the victims were 343 firefighters, 23 New York police officers, and 37 Port Authority agents. The wound remains open for hundreds of families. The New York Medical Examiner's Office identified the 1,654th victim of the World Trade Center in August, and 1,099 people still remain unidentified.

Trump takes the tribute to his war with Iran

At the Pentagon, a bell has rung after the reading of each of the names of the 184 people killed there. Trump recalled some of their stories accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine.

The president ended up shifting the focus of his speech to the war that the United States has been waging against Iran since February 28. "We will never, ever forget. That is why we fight today. We have no choice. The only option is victory," he proclaimed after renewing the country's commitment to the victims.

Trump also paid tribute to the military personnel who, in his words, work to prevent the Islamic Republic, which he presented as the world's leading sponsor of terrorism, from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Hegseth followed the same path and celebrated the campaign launched against Tehran over the past six months.

The link established by the Administration between 9/11 and the current offensive has placed an increasingly questioned war at the center of a day of mourning. The 2001 attacks were organized by Al Qaeda and carried out by 19 hijackers, fifteen of whom were Saudi citizens. The official investigation never attributed the authorship of the attacks to Iran.

The war is now entering its seventh month without a definitive ceasefire. Trump arrived at the White House promising to end open conflicts and presenting himself as the "president of peace," but his campaign in Iran has provoked growing rejection within the United States. A Reuters and Ipsos poll published in early September reflects that barely a quarter of Americans believe the war is worthwhile.

The intervention also left out another of the demands made by the families. Terry Strada, whose husband died in the North Tower, has called on Trump and Vance to support the victims in their legal battle to clarify Saudi Arabia's possible responsibility. Riyadh denies any connection to the attacks, and the lawsuit brought by the families remains open 25 years later.

Mamdani claims New York's solidarity

Zohran Mamdani has faced his first 9/11 anniversary as mayor remembering the attack as "the darkest day in our city's history". In a message released before going to Ground Zero, he spoke of the 2,753 parents, children, partners, friends, and colleagues who died in New York, "2,753 universes that were gone. In an instant."

The mayor also remembered those who queued for hours to donate blood, opened their homes to people who could not return to their neighborhoods, or helped evacuate the Twin Towers. His tribute positioned that collective response as an obligation for the current city, called to care for the sick and to respond to a tragedy by running towards others.

Mamdani has also turned every September 11 into an annual day of remembrance and service. The initiative seeks to keep the memory of the victims alive through community activities and to recognize the work of emergency teams, survivors, and those who still suffer the health consequences of the attack. More than 469 members of the New York Police Department have died over the years from illnesses linked to 9/11.

His presence at the ceremony had been questioned through a campaign that asked for him to be removed from the event due to his criticism of the Israeli government and his defense of the rights of the Palestinian people. Former mayor Rudy Giuliani even compared New York's first Muslim mayor to the hijackers. Mamdani attended, remained silent during the reading of the names, and shook Giuliani's hand.

The last voice of the ceremony belonged to the son of one of the victims. Before the families gathered at Ground Zero, he asked that the tragedy stop being used against Muslims and against those who are different. "You do not honor the memory of my father or that of all the victims by using this tragedy to spread hatred," he stated.