Trump uses 9/11 memorial speech to defend Iran war as families commemorate victims of attack – live

My colleagues on the picture desk have collated this gallery of photographs from the day that changed the world. (Some readers may find the images distressing.)

Looking forward to next week, the House is set to begin consideration of a sweeping Russia sanctions bill championed ⁠by the late ⁠Republican ​senator Lindsey Graham, which has passed the Senate but faces stiff opposition from House ⁠Democrats.

The House rules committee said it scheduled a meeting to consider the measure for ⁠Monday afternoon. Approval by the Republican-majority committee would ​pave the way ‌for a vote in ‌the full chamber later in the week.

Graham, who died in July, was among Ukraine’s most outspoken allies in Congress and spent the final days of his life trying to advance the bill in Congress.

The legislation aims to increase economic pressure on Moscow over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine by sanctioning Russian officials and ‌authorizing stiff tariffs on China, India and other countries to reduce their dependence on Russian ​oil and gas.

The bill would impose new sanctions and visa bans on Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, and top military commanders, as well as put tariffs of up to 500% on the country’s exports. It would also allow Donald Trump to impose levies of up to 100% on goods from countries that are the top five importers of Russian oil and gas.

The Senate voted 86-11 last month to pass it. However, the support from both Republicans ⁠and Democrats that propelled the bill through the Senate ​might not ​be enough to secure ​House passage.

Some lawmakers and industries worry that ​new tariff ‌powers for Trump could raise costs for US importers and consumers. Some Republican lawmakers are also concerned about political blowback ahead of November’s crucial midterm elections.

In Pennsylvania, a ceremony also took place this morning at the Flight 93 national memorial, where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed after being hijacked. The morning observance included a reading of the names of the passengers and crew members, followed by the ringing of the bells of remembrance. The afternoon ceremony will feature “remarks, keynote speakers, music and concludes with a public wreath-laying ceremony at the Wall of Names”, according to the National Park Service.

Tomorrow, another ceremony is scheduled at the Flight 93 national memorial, where 40 candle lanterns will be carried to the Wall of Names and placed beneath the names of each passenger and crew member.

New York City’s Bryant park has placed 2,753 empty chairs on its lawn to represent those killed in the September 11 attacks. The park’s website says people can write a note and attach it to a carnation to place on a chair.

My colleague, Marina Dunbar, has this report from Guardian readers who have shared memories of the loved ones they lost in the September 11 terror attacks, 25 years ago.

For Cheryl Ann of Santa Monica, California, the person she lost was a friend named Caroline, whom she described as a successful Disney executive and a mentor.

Cheryl, who had pursued photography after moving from New Jersey to Los Angeles, said Caroline admired her work and treated her as an equal while she was working as an executive assistant.

“We became personal friends and she invited me into her home and her life,” Cheryl said. “With genuine enthusiasm she offered to mentor me.”

On September 11, Cheryl woke to messages telling her to turn on CNN. She had friends, godchildren, business associates and other loved ones in the region and feared for people she could not reach by phone.

“I didn’t sleep; I could barely eat; life as I knew it was over,” she said.

Later, Cheryl saw her friend Caroline’s name on a passenger list shown on the news. She initially hoped it was someone else with the same name, but a mutual friend confirmed it was the Caroline they knew.

“It annihilated me. I don’t know any other way to express the depth of the pain of the loss. She had a beautiful light that lit up any room she entered,” Cheryl said. “She literally glowed, as beautiful on the outside as on the inside.”

Earlier, Hegseth delivered a bellicose speech at the somber memorial on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks at the Pentagon. Noting that the Iran war was part of is part of the fight against an “Islamic theocracy that has wished us death for nearly half a century”.

The defense secretary insisted that Iran’s defenses “are gone”.

He added: “We’re still sending terrorists where they belong – 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.”

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.

“Today we renew the sacred oath that we first swore in their names a quarter of a century ago. We will never, ever forget,” he said. “That’s why we fight today. We don’t have a choice. There can only be victory. We fight hard. We fight to win.”

Donald Trump also used his speech at the Pentagon to honor the lives lost in the September 11 attacks to defend his administration’s ongoing war in Iran.

“We salute every member of the United States military who served in the war on terror,” Trump said. “And we salute the service members working right now to ensure the world’s number one sponsor of terror, the Islamic Republic of Iran will never ever have a nuclear weapon.”

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. “The struggle against evil continued, and it continues now. It will continue until Judgment Day. Our only answer here on Earth is eternal vigilance,” Hegseth said.

He also claimed the threat extended into US borders, warning that “enemies plot to curb our power and kill our citizens, including from Islamic terrorists abroad and at home.”

He went on to credit Trump with dismantling Iran’s military capabilities, saying “the United States killed their leaders” and vowed that “we’re still sending terrorists where they belong to hell, and tankers to the bottom of the ocean where they belong.” He added that “we are ensuring that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.”

Hegseth closed by invoking scripture, telling the audience that “the world will always have war and rumors of war”, before calling for a new generation of “strong, brave warriors who will say when it matters most, send me”.

My colleague Ramon Antonio Vargas has also been reporting on the group 9/11 victims’ families who say it has “taken way too long” to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for its alleged support of the terrorists who carried out the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Terry Strada – the national chair of 9/11 Families United – said she felt as if it had “been several lifetimes” for there to be progress in the effort “to achieve a modicum of justice through our court system” in connection with the deadliest act of terror against the US.

Strada, whose husband, Tom, was killed in the attacks, subsequently became an advocate for people who lost loved ones on September 11.

One of the 9/11 families’ most visible attempts at accountability for the attacks has been a years-long civil lawsuit alleging that Saudi Arabia supported the al-Qaida terror group operatives who carried out September 11.

Attorneys for Saudi Arabia have denied the lawsuit’s merits, maintaining that the kingdom has helped the US combat al-Qaida, its late founder Osama bin Laden, and terrorism in general.

Read Ramon’s full report here:

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 “the deep state has hidden the truth about what happened” for 25 years.

He went on to urge Donald Trump to “release the unredacted files that implicate Saudi Arabia while what’s left of the victims families are still alive to see it”.

At the Pentagon, Dan Caine – the chair of the joint chiefs of staff – is now speaking.

“Today is not just a story of loss; it is also a story of great American courage, selfless service, and those who’ve made the choice to carry those memories forward,” Caine said. “The 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.”