Updated at\u00a010.45 EDT<\/p>\n
Key events<\/p>\n
Closing out his speech at the Pentagon today, Trump again suggested that the military conflict with Iran was part of the legacy of 9\/11 terror attacks.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday we renew the sacred oath that we first swore in their names a quarter of a century ago. We will never, ever forget,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s why we fight today. We don\u2019t have a choice. There can only be victory. We fight hard. We fight to win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a010.55 EDT<\/p>\n Trump uses 9\/11 memorial speech to defend war in Iran: ‘We’re still sending terrorists where they belong \u2013 to hell’<\/p>\n Donald Trump also used his speech at the Pentagon to honor the lives lost in the September 11 attacks to defend his administration\u2019s ongoing war in Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cOn days like 9\/11, we learn what a country is truly made of. We\u2019re learning right now what we\u2019re made of,\u201d the president said. \u201cWe\u2019re still sending terrorists where they belong \u2013 to hell. And tankers to the bottom of the ocean where they belong, 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a010.45 EDT<\/p>\n Joseph Gedeon<\/p>\n Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, used his remarks at the Pentagon ceremony to link the 9\/11 attacks directly to the ongoing US war with Iran, framing both as part of a continuing religious and civilizational struggle. \u201cThe struggle against evil continued, and it continues now. It will continue until Judgment Day. Our only answer here on Earth is eternal vigilance,\u201d Hegseth said.<\/p>\n He also claimed the threat extended into US borders, warning that \u201cenemies plot to curb our power and kill our citizens, including from Islamic terrorists abroad and at home.\u201d Hegseth closed by invoking scripture, telling the audience that \u201cthe world will always have war and rumors of war\u201d, before calling for a new generation of \u201cstrong, brave warriors who will say when it matters most, send me\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a010.45 EDT<\/p>\n My colleague Ramon Antonio Vargas has also been reporting on the group 9\/11 victims\u2019 families who say it has \u201ctaken way too long\u201d to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for its alleged support of the terrorists who carried out the September 11, 2001<\/a> attacks.<\/p>\n Terry Strada \u2013 the national chair of 9\/11 Families United \u2013 said she felt as if it had \u201cbeen several lifetimes\u201d for there to be progress in the effort \u201cto achieve a modicum of justice through our court system\u201d in connection with the deadliest act of terror against the US.<\/p>\n Strada, whose husband, Tom, was killed in the attacks, subsequently became an advocate for people who lost loved ones on September 11.<\/p>\n One of the 9\/11 families\u2019 most visible attempts at accountability for the attacks has been a years-long civil lawsuit alleging that Saudi Arabia<\/a> supported the al-Qaida terror group operatives who carried out September 11.<\/p>\n Attorneys for Saudi Arabia have denied the lawsuit\u2019s merits, maintaining that the kingdom has helped the US combat al-Qaida, its late founder Osama bin Laden, and terrorism in general.<\/p>\n Read Ramon\u2019s full report here: <\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n While political speeches are prohibited at the 9\/11 memorial ceremonies in New York, the nephew of Lisa Marie Terry, one of the victims of the attacks on the World Trade Center, insisted that \u201cthe deep state has hidden the truth about what happened\u201d for 25 years.<\/p>\n He went on to urge Donald Trump to \u201crelease the unredacted files that implicate Saudi Arabia while what\u2019s left of the victims families are still alive to see it\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n At the Pentagon, Dan Caine \u2013\u00a0the chair of the joint chiefs of staff \u2013\u00a0is now speaking.<\/p>\n \u201cToday is not just a story of loss; it is also a story of great American courage, selfless service, and those who\u2019ve made the choice to carry those memories forward,\u201d Caine said. \u201cThe courage of those extraordinary Americans in Pennsylvania, in New York, and right here on these hallowed grounds did not end when the smoke cleared and the fires went out, because survivors and families have carried it forward through service, through sacrifice, and through remembrance.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a009.57 EDT<\/p>\n Vance and all former living presidents attend 9\/11 memorial at World Trade Center<\/p>\n As we noted earlier, Trump has opted to stay in Washington where we can expect him to deliver remarks at the Pentagon, but JD Vance, his vice-president, is in New York, at the memorial service at Ground Zero.<\/p>\n All living former presidents, Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George Bush and Bill Clinton, are also at the commemoration service in lower Manhattan.<\/p>\n Former New York mayor, Rudy Giuliani, who led the city through the attacks and the ensuing recovery is at the event alongside Zohran Mamdani, the current mayor.<\/p>\n A reminder that Giuliani said that it \u201coffends\u201d him that Mamdani would attend the memorial in an interview with Newsmax last week.<\/p>\n In the interview with Newsmax, Giuliani was asked if Mamdani should skip the ceremony. \u201cWell, there\u2019s no question he should,\u201d he said. He also lobbed baseless comparisons between Mamdani\u2019s faith, he is a Muslim, and the 9\/11 hijackers acting on the extremist orders of Osama bin Laden<\/a>, the jihadist militant and terrorist leader killed by US forces during the Obama administration.<\/p>\n Mamdani\u2019s office declined to comment on Giuliani\u2019s remarks.<\/p>\n Mamdani has previously spoken about how an Islamophobic backlash built after the 2001 attacks and had made anti-Muslim prejudice \u201ca fact of life\u201d for Muslim Americans. \u201cIt was this horrific day that was also, for many New Yorkers, the moment at which they were marked an \u2018other\u2019,\u201d he told the New York Times last year.<\/a><\/p>\n This is the first time that Mamdani and Giuliani will be face to face since the former mayor\u2019s comments.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Images of people gathering in New York, Washington DC and elsewhere to mark 25 years since the September 11, 2001 attacks are coming in on the newswires.<\/p>\n A man is seen mourning at the September 11 Memorial Plaza in Lower Manhattan. Photograph: Dave Sanders\/EPAA US flag is unfurled from the roof of the Pentagon. Photograph: Elizabeth Frantz\/ReutersJersey City firefighters raise an American flag in honor of the victims on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Photograph: Andr\u00e9s Kudacki\/Getty ImagesRyan Gould, grandson of Flight 93 victim Patrick Joseph Driscoll, holds his son next to the Wall of Names, at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset county, Pennsylvania. Photograph: Nathan Howard\/ReutersA woman pauses at the 9\/11 memorial in New York City. Photograph: Spencer Platt\/Getty ImagesA man looks down as he stands next to a US flag during a ceremony held at the Flight 93 National Memorial. Photograph: Nathan Howard\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a009.47 EDT<\/p>\n At the Pentagon, the names of the 184 victims of the September 11 attack on the Department of Defense are being read aloud.<\/p>\n Alongside Donald Trump and Melania today are Pete Hegseth, the current defense secretary, Dan Caine, chair of the joint chiefs of staff, and Condoleezza Rice the former secretary of state. At the time of the terror attacks, Rice was the national security adviser.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a009.27 EDT<\/p>\n Trump arrives at Pentagon ceremony<\/p>\n Donald Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump, have arrived at the Pentagon ceremony to commemorate the victims of the September 11 attack.<\/p>\n The president is set to speak and take part in a wreath-laying ceremony.<\/p>\n Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump listen to the national anthem during the 25th anniversary commemoration of the September 11 attacks at the Pentagon. Photograph: Saul Loeb\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a009.25 EDT<\/p>\n Memorial ceremony under way in New York<\/p>\n The memorial ceremony in New York is under way. Families of the people who died in the city gathered at the 9\/11 memorial to commemorate their loved ones.<\/p>\n A moment of silence was held before relatives read out the names of those killed that day.<\/p>\n Vice-president JD Vance and New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani are among those at the ceremony.<\/p>\n You can follow proceedings here:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a009.41 EDT<\/p>\n Watch: Memorial ceremony commences at the Pentagon<\/p>\n The memorial ceremony for the 25th anniversary has commenced at the Pentagon. You can watch the feed at the top of this blog or here:<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a009.40 EDT<\/p>\n US inflation remained high in August as military conflict with Iran continues<\/p>\n Gaya Gupta<\/p>\n US consumer prices remained stubbornly high in August as the end of the ceasefire between the US and Iran<\/a> pushed energy prices up, according to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics released on Friday.<\/p>\n The annualized inflation<\/a> rate was 3.4%, the same as it was in July. The most recent peak was seen in May, when the inflation rate hit a three-year high at 4.2%. Core inflation, which strips out volatile energy and food prices, increased to 2.4% in August.<\/p>\n Despite dipping from its most recent peak, inflation remains above levels that were seen before the war in Iran<\/a>, largely because of higher energy prices.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Donald Trump will start his day in Washington. In a short while he\u2019ll arrive at the Pentagon with his wife, Melania, for a ceremony and wreath laying to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks.<\/p>\n While Trump will stay in DC, vice-president JD Vance is in New York at Ground Zero with all living former presidents, to attend the memorial service at the site of the attacks in lower Manhattan.<\/p>\n He\u2019ll spend the rest of the day in meetings before traveling to Ireland, where he\u2019ll spend the weekend talking with leaders and the Irish president, Catherine Connolly, and the taoiseach, Miche\u00e1l Martin.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n He saw the first one on September 11 itself. \u201cMissing\u201d, said a hastily designed poster on the window of a bar in Tribeca providing food and water to first responders. It was a plea for information about a person who had vanished in the deadliest terrorist attack in US history<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI was like, \u2018Wow, this is going to be \u2026\u2019\u201d recalls Phil Buehler<\/a>, an artist and photographer who had watched the twin towers collapse from his office window. \u201cBut you knew that there would be very few survivors. You knew it then.\u201d<\/p>\n The missing posters kept coming in the days after 9\/11, and Buehler kept photographing them. But having amassed more than 500 images, he put them away in a box on a top shelf because he could not bear to look at them.<\/p>\n As the 25th anniversary of the atrocity neared, he decided to revisit them and will put a selection on public display for the first time this week. Countenance: The 9\/11 Missing Posters, an installation at Most Holy Trinity \u2013 St Mary\u2019s church<\/a> in Brooklyn, places 144 pictures across 24 translucent vellum panels, in vertical pairs reminiscent of the twin towers.<\/p>\n The World Trade Center was always a favourite subject for Buehler. He had been photographing it since 1973, when he was 16. On September 11 2001, as an advisory board member for a tech startup, he had been invited to a conference at the Windows on the World<\/a> restaurant at the top of the north tower, but turned the offer down (a friend intended to go but was delayed).<\/p>\n \u201cThe guy that invited us died that day and I think my friend feels guilty about it,\u201d he says quietly by phone, recalling the day on which nearly 3,000 people were killed by hijacked airliners in New York<\/a>, northern Virginia and Pennsylvania. \u201cYou realise how close \u2013 everybody had a story.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a> He has told the story hundreds of times, but it never seems to fade. If anything, it only becomes more vivid. \u201cOh, gosh,\u201d exclaims Stanley Praimnath, his voice cracking with an \u201cooooooh!\u201d as if bearing a weight. \u201cIt\u2019s like reliving that day.\u201d<\/p>\n Nearly 3,000 people died in the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington DC<\/a> on September 11 2001. But Praimnath and another office worker, Brian Clark, were two of only four individuals known to have survived from above the impact zone in either tower of the World Trade Center. The two strangers met in the smoke and fire of the 81st floor of the south tower, and walked down 1,620 steps into the rest of their lives.<\/p>\n Their split-second decisions that day made all the difference. Over the next 25 years, both men moved from middle age into old age and retirement. Both enjoyed family weddings and watched children and grandchildren grow. Both saw US presidents come and go as old wars ended<\/a> and new wars began<\/a>. They remained friends through it all.<\/p>\n
He went on to credit Trump with dismantling Iran\u2019s military capabilities, saying \u201cthe United States killed their leaders\u201d and vowed that \u201cwe\u2019re still sending terrorists where they belong to hell, and tankers to the bottom of the ocean where they belong.\u201d He added that \u201cwe are ensuring that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Trump](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/5414.jpg\")
Trump attends Pentagon commemoration of 9\/11 attacks \u2013 watch liveShare<\/a><\/p>\n![\"David](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/David_Smith.png\")
David Smith<\/p>\n