The United States commemorated the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on Friday with a solemn ceremony in New York, where the absence of President Donald Trump drew attention and some victims’ relatives delivered pointed remarks.
Instead of joining the traditional observance at Ground Zero in lower Manhattan, Trump marked the anniversary at the Pentagon, one of the sites targeted in the attacks.
The president linked the conflict that followed the 9/11 attacks, including years of US military involvement in the Middle East, to his current confrontation with Iran.
“Today we renew the sacred oath that we first swore in their names a quarter of a century ago. We will never, ever forget. That’s why we fight today,” Trump said.
“We don’t have a choice. There can only be victory. We fight hard. We fight to win.”
The Ground Zero ceremony was attended by Vice President JD Vance and Trump’s four living predecessors: former Republican President George W. Bush, who was in office during the attacks, and former Democratic presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
Thousands gathered for the annual remembrance, which followed the sequence of events from the attacks and ended shortly before 1 p.m. local time, or 1700 GMT.
As in previous years, the names of the 2,977 people killed in the attacks were read aloud, while bells rang to mark significant moments of the tragedy.
The ceremony traditionally avoids political speeches and is intended solely as a commemoration. However, several relatives of victims used their time during the reading of names to criticize Saudi Arabia and what they described as the close relationship between US leaders and the kingdom.
The September 11 attacks, in which hijackers crashed commercial airliners into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania, profoundly altered US foreign policy and global affairs for decades.