WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth brought the administration’s six-month war with Iran into a solemn Pentagon ceremony Friday marking the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. The Pentagon memorial honors the 184 people killed when hijackers crashed American Airlines Flight 77 into the building on Sept. 11, 2001. Nearly 3,000 Americans died in the attacks nationwide. Hegseth used the commemoration to frame the conflict with Iran as another front in the nation’s long-running battle against terrorism. He said the United States continues to face enemies determined to weaken the country and kill Americans, including Islamic terrorists operating overseas and at home. “The struggle against evil continued and it continues now,” Hegseth said. The defense secretary also delivered an unusually detailed battlefield update, saying U.S. forces had killed Iranian leaders, destroyed the country’s air force and dismantled its air defenses during six months of fighting. He said economic pressure on Tehran was increasing and claimed the United States controlled the Strait of Hormuz, a critical passage for global energy shipments. “We are ensuring that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon,” Hegseth said. “We will finish this fight.” Trump’s remarks focused more heavily on the 9/11 victims and the national unity that followed the attacks. But he also pointed to American troops serving abroad and cast the Iranian government as a continuing threat. “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,” Trump said. The appearance tied a current military operation to the nation’s most consequential terrorist attack, underscoring how the administration is presenting the Iran war to the American public. It also placed claims about military gains and nuclear security at the center of a ceremony intended primarily for remembrance. The administration’s argument is straightforward: American strength and military pressure are necessary to keep another hostile regime from threatening the United States. The stakes, however, extend well beyond Washington, as control of the Strait of Hormuz and the continuing campaign could affect global security and energy markets.