US and global leaders mark 25th anniversary of 11 September terrorist attacks

Ground Zero ceremonies

On Friday, 11 September 2026, commemorations across the United States marked the 25th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks. At Ground Zero in New York, relatives of the victims read the names of those killed when two hijacked airliners struck the World Trade Center towers. The ceremony included seven moments of silence, aligning with the times each plane struck the towers, each building collapsed, the Pentagon was hit, and United Flight 93 crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Organizers designated a seventh moment of silence for the first time to honor emergency responders and survivors who later died from toxic exposure and related illnesses. Attendees in New York included Vice President JD Vance, former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden, as well as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and former mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Pentagon address and military remarks

At the Pentagon, President Donald Trump addressed a parallel gathering where 184 people were killed during the 2001 attack, including 59 passengers aboard American Airlines Flight 77 and 125 defense personnel. Trump linked the anniversary to the current military confrontation with Iran, presenting the effort as a continuation of the security campaign initiated after 2001 to prevent the Iranian government from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Today we renew a holy vow that we first made in their name a quarter century ago. We will never, ever forget. That is why we fight today. We have no choice. There can only be victory. We are fighting hard. We are fighting to win.

Trump also spoke about the passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93, who stormed the cockpit and forced the hijacked plane down in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, calling their actions the first American counterattack of the campaign. He stated that the lasting response to terrorism resides within families raising children who believe in justice and freedom. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and General Dan Caine also addressed the ceremony. Hegseth, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, described those past military actions as retribution and vowed to conclude the conflict with Iran.

Even if they were imperfect, those wars were our revenge.

International European responses

European leaders issued statements marking the quarter-century anniversary, recalling the transatlantic security cooperation established after NATO invoked Article 5 for the first time following the 2001 attacks. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stated that Italy continues to stand with its allies against terrorism to defend democratic values and collective security. European Council President António Costa paid tribute to the victims, their families, and rescue personnel who responded to the strikes. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola noted that the global community remembers the day conditions changed across the world, following a statement on Thursday by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen regarding collective defense.

Observances in Poland

In Warsaw, Polish President Karol Nawrocki laid a wreath before a memorial plaque in the chapel of the Presidential Palace, where a cross crafted from steel recovered from the World Trade Center is preserved. The memorial cross in the chapel was gifted by New York police officers and firefighters who participated in the rescue operations. Polish records note that eight Polish citizens died in the 2001 attacks, including Marta Jakubiak, Dorota Kopiczko, Jan Maciejewski, Łukasz Milewski, Anna Piętkiewicz, Józef Piskadło, Gina Sztejnberg, and Norbert Szurkowski. Across the United States, official sources report between 2,973 and 2,996 total fatalities from the four coordinated hijackings carried out by 19 Al-Qaeda operatives.