🔻 U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered remarks at a memorial ceremony held on the occasion of September 11 at the Pentagon building, headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense.

In his remarks, Mr. Hegseth said: “Over the past six months, we have crushed the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism. Our forces have fought an Islamic government that has longed for our death for nearly half a century and celebrated the events of September 11; a regime that, for decades, has supported terrorist attacks against Americans and has killed thousands of people, including our allies in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

He said: “The United States took out their leaders (Iran) and destroyed their air force. Their navy is also now at the bottom of the sea, and their defense systems have been wiped out. We continue to send the terrorists to hell, and their oil tankers to the bottom of the ocean, and we ensure that Iran will never obtain nuclear weapons.”

Mr. Hegseth, referring to the ever-increasing economic pressure on Iran, emphasized that the United States controls the Strait of Hormuz and said: “We will see this battle through to the end.” 📷Getty