At the 25th anniversary memorial of the September 11 terrorist attacks, held at the Pentagon, former U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth attempted to connect Iran to these incidents. This ceremony took place simultaneously with another event at "Ground Zero" in New York.
Claim of Iran's Connection to Terrorism
In his speech at the Pentagon, Trump referred to the ongoing war on terrorism, stating: "We honor the military present in the field who ensure that the world's greatest sponsor of terrorism, the Islamic Republic of Iran, will never obtain nuclear weapons." Hegseth also emphasized to American forces that they will remain "vigilant" against the "Islamic theocracy" in Iran.
Hegseth, referencing Iran's long history of supporting terrorism, said: "We are currently sending terrorists to where they belong — hell — and sending oil tankers to the bottom of the ocean, where they belong." These remarks, alongside efforts to link Iran to the 9/11 attacks, seem to indicate a shift in political approaches in the United States.
Contradictions and Criticisms
At the same time, it should be noted that some of America's closest allies, particularly Saudi Arabia, actually played a larger role in the 9/11 tragedy. Many of the 9/11 attackers were from Saudi Arabia, and the families of the victims have filed lawsuits against this country for its governmental and intelligence cooperation in the attacks. Meanwhile, Iran, as a historical enemy of Saudi Arabia, is in religious and political opposition to this country.
Interestingly, the attempt to link Iran to 9/11 recalls the propaganda of the Bush era. At that time, some neocon analysts tried to connect Tehran to the 9/11 attacks, while Iraq was invaded based on claims of a connection between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda. In fact, Saddam Hussein was a secular dictator who was never seeking to collaborate with extremist groups.
