Trump defends Iran war in Veterans Day speech at Arlington
He told veterans the conflict will end soon and leave the world safer; the Pentagon counts 23 US service members killed and several hundred wounded.
President Donald Trump used a Veterans Day address at Arlington National Cemetery on Wednesday to defend the war with Iran, saying the conflict would end soon and leave the world "a much safer and better place, more peaceful place, and a place without the kind of danger that we had to suffer."
"The bravery and skill of our amazing American warriors has absolutely been incredible," Trump told troops, veterans and senior officials at the cemetery just outside Washington.
Trump said the war was started not by Washington but by Tehran, which "has been waging war on America since 1979", and that US forces were fighting to stop Iran from building a nuclear weapon. The war began on February 28 with US and Israeli strikes on Iran. The latest Pentagon figures put US losses at 23 service members killed and several hundred wounded.
Trump, 80, laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier before his remarks. He praised Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was present, saying he had "done a fantastic job". A day earlier, Republicans in the House of Representatives blocked an attempt by an outgoing Republican lawmaker to impeach Hegseth for allegedly waging war without congressional authorisation and abusing his powers as Pentagon chief.
The ceremony also produced a reprimand. A US Army sentinel guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier called out to a group that included Hegseth, his wife and several aides after some of them laughed while posing for a photograph at the site. "All visitors will maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times," the sentinel said, halting his patrol to face the group as they climbed stairs to leave. Hegseth turned around to look at the guard.
In his speech Trump raised the 250-foot triumphal arch he wants built just outside the cemetery, saying it would be dedicated "soon". On Tuesday the family of John F Kennedy asked a court to block construction, arguing the structure would obstruct views and cast shadows over the graves of the assassinated president and other Kennedy relatives. Groups of veterans, the city of Washington and the state of Virginia have filed separate lawsuits against the project.
How the reports differ
CNA led on Trump's prediction that the war would end soon and make the world "a much safer and better place". Arab News and Bangkok Post led instead with the rebuke at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where a sentinel publicly admonished a group including Pete Hegseth for laughing during a photograph. Bangkok Post also carried the Pentagon's casualty figures, the blocked House impeachment effort against Hegseth and the Kennedy family's lawsuit over the planned arch, details the shorter CNA account did not include.
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