Iran responds to Hegseth linking the war against it to the September 11 attacks
Quick Look
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei responded to the statements of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in which he linked the war on Iran to the response to the September 11 attacks, stressing that the perpetrators of the attacks were not Iranian and that the United States was the one that armed and sponsored the groups responsible for the attacks, and described invoking the memory of September 11 to justify a war against Iran as absurd and immoral.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Hegseth's statements came in a speech on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, in which he linked the war on Iran to the American response to those attacks, and claimed that the United States had eliminated the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world.
(CNN) - Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ismail Baghaei, commented on the statements made by US Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, linking the war on Iran to the American response to the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Baqaei said in a blog post on his page on the
Baghaei continued: “The perpetrators of the September 11 attacks were not Iranians, but were the same people whom the United States had armed, organized, or sponsored in various ways over the previous decades. However, the so-called ‘War on Terror’ that followed those events brought to Afghanistan and Iraq years of war, occupation, civilian deaths, and massive destruction.”
He added: "In this context, invoking the anniversary of September 11 to justify a reckless and illegal war against Iran is completely absurd. A criminal war - which included the assassination of officials of a sovereign state and the targeting of civilians, including women and children - cannot be given moral consistency simply by wrapping it in counter-terrorism rhetoric."
Hegseth said in a speech on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, on Friday, that, “Over the past six months, we have inflicted massive destruction on the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world. Our warriors are fighting an Islamic theocracy that has wished us death for nearly half a century, and has cheered and celebrated the September 11 attacks.”
He added: "We are still sending terrorists where they belong, to hell, sinking oil tankers to the bottom of the ocean where they belong, and ensuring that Iran never possesses a nuclear weapon."
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Iran will likely continue to respond diplomatically and militarily to US statements
Likely · Within weeks
Open Questions
- On what evidence does the United States base its designation of Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism?
- Will these statements increase military tensions between Iran and the United States?
- What is the expected reaction from the international community to this controversy?
