Secretary of War Pete Hegseth marked the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks at the Pentagon on Friday by honoring those killed and warning that the United States must remain vigilant against terrorist threats at home and abroad.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth used Friday’s 25th-anniversary commemoration of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to warn that America continues to face enemies seeking to harm its citizens, declaring that “eternal vigilance” remains the price of preserving the nation’s freedom.
Speaking at the Pentagon, where 184 people were killed in the building and aboard American Airlines Flight 77 on Sept. 11, 2001, Hegseth reflected on how the attacks abruptly changed Americans’ understanding of the terrorist threat and helped define a generation of military service. The Pentagon ceremony included the reading of the victims’ names and other remembrances marking a quarter-century since the attack.
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“You see, on that day, many Americans were ignorant of the Islamist threat that we face,” Hegseth said. “But 25 years ago, at this very hour, it was no more because history was not over. It’s never over. The struggle against evil continued and it continues now.”
“It will continue until Judgment Day,” he continued. “Our only answer here on Earth is eternal vigilance. That indeed is the price of freedom.”
Hegseth argued that the threats confronting the United States did not disappear with the military campaigns that followed 9/11, telling the audience that hostile actors continue attempting to undermine American power and target its people.
“There are still enemies who hate us every day,” he said. “Every day, enemies plot to curb our power and kill our citizens, including from Islamic terrorists abroad and at home. But we are ever vigilant, especially this place, especially these people.” Contemporary accounts of Friday’s ceremony similarly reported Hegseth emphasizing continuing terrorist threats and the responsibility of the military to remain prepared.
Hegseth then connected that message to the ongoing U.S. military confrontation with Iran.
Iran has been designated by the United States as a state sponsor of terrorism since 1984, and successive State Department reports have accused Tehran of supporting groups including Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis and Iran-aligned militias elsewhere in the Middle East.
“Over the past six months, we have laid waste to the world’s most prolific state sponsor of terrorism,” Hegseth said, describing the administration’s military campaign. “Our warriors have fought an Islamic theocracy that has wished us death for nearly half a century — that cheered on 9/11.”
His statements about the extent of damage inflicted on Iran reflected the administration’s assessment of the campaign. Hegseth said Iranian leaders had been killed, air defenses destroyed and naval forces badly damaged while U.S. forces continued operations intended to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Reporting from Friday’s Pentagon ceremony confirmed that both Hegseth and President Donald Trump used the anniversary to connect the post-9/11 fight against terrorism with current operations against Iran.
“We’re still sending terrorists where they belong — to hell — and tankers to the bottom of the ocean where they belong,” Hegseth said. “And we are ensuring that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. The economic pressure tightens every day. We control the strait. We will finish this fight.”
Beyond current military operations, Hegseth focused on the Americans who have served in uniform since 2001 and on the responsibility of future generations to continue defending the country.
“The top 1% of Americans, those that wear the uniform, still keep the watch,” Hegseth said. “We all sleep in peace because we know they stand ready.”
The Sept. 11 attacks ultimately killed 2,977 people at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and aboard Flight 93. Friday’s ceremony at the Pentagon was one of several major observances held across the country to mark the 25th anniversary.
For Hegseth, the lesson of the anniversary extended beyond remembering the lives lost that morning. He argued that honoring them also requires maintaining the military readiness and national awareness necessary to confront future threats.
“We honor the fallen of that day 25 years ago by living worthy of their legacy today, and for 250 more years,” Hegseth said.
His message at the Pentagon returned repeatedly to the idea that the passage of time does not eliminate the dangers that confronted the country on Sept. 11 — or the obligation to remain prepared for those that follow.
“Our only answer here on Earth,” Hegseth said, “is eternal vigilance.”
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