Trump defends war against Iran during Veterans Day speech

President Donald Trump defended his administration's handling of the war against Iran during the Veterans Day commemoration.

In his speech, delivered at Arlington National Cemetery, where more than 400,000 soldiers and their eligible family members are buried, Trump stated that the world "will be a much safer place" when the conflict ends and the Iranian regime is defeated.

"The courage and skill of our incredible American warriors have been absolutely incredible," the president said.

"When this conflict ends—and it will end soon—the entire world will be a much safer and better place, a more peaceful place and a place free from the kind of danger we've had to endure," he added.

Trump maintained that this conflict was never started by the United States and its allies—referring primarily to Israel—but rather by Iran, which "has been at war with us since 1979."

The president once again defended Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who has been the target of most of the criticism from the Democratic Party and even from a faction within the Republican Party.

"He's done a fantastic job," Trump said of Hegseth.

During the ceremony, the president laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a symbol honoring soldiers who fell in various battles.

This event and these statements took place on the same day that Tehran once again threatened the United States. On Wednesday, the Islamist regime, through its security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, warned of attacks on U.S. military bases located far from the Middle East, explicitly referring to those in Europe.

"If U.S. planes take off from a U.S. military base—even one located in a European country or some other distant region—to bomb Iran, we will also attack those bases," Rezaei declared, according to remarks compiled by AFP.

In addition, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was forced to leave his home in Washington, D.C. and take refuge at a military base "for his safety." Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Hegseth had to make the same decision weeks ago.