Shafaqna Pakistan: US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday vowed that Washington would “finish this fight” with Iran as he addressed a Pentagon ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, which claimed nearly 3,000 lives.
Hegseth appeared alongside President Donald Trump and General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at the ceremony honouring the victims of the attacks as well as US troops and first responders.
“There are still enemies who hate us,” Hegseth said, warning that hostile forces continued to challenge American power and target US citizens. He added that Washington remained “vigilant” against such threats.
Speaking about Iran, Hegseth claimed that the United States had spent the past six months dismantling the capabilities of what he described as the “world’s most prolific state sponsor of terrorism”.
He accused Iran’s leadership of wishing the US “death for nearly half a century” and of cheering the Sept 11 attacks and sponsoring attacks against Americans for decades.
“But they did not factor in this president,” Hegseth said, referring to Trump.
He said US forces had killed Iranian leaders, destroyed the country’s air force and navy and eliminated its air defences.
“We’re still sending terrorists where they belong to hell, and tankers to the bottom of the ocean where they belong,” Hegseth said.
He added that Washington was working to ensure Iran would “never have a nuclear weapon,” while economic pressure on Tehran was tightening.
“We control the Strait,” Hegseth said, referring to the Strait of Hormuz. “We will finish this fight.”
Source: Express Tribune
