Former presidents gather at WTC site with Trump at Pentagon as world stops 25 years later to remember 9/11

Key Points:

• Twenty-five years after the September 11 attacks, Americans gathered nationwide and at the World Trade Center memorial to honor nearly 3,000 victims, observing moments of silence at key times of the attacks.
• All living former presidents and Vice President JD Vance attended the Manhattan ceremony, where New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani briefly shook hands despite past political tensions.
• Families of victims called for accountability from Saudi Arabia, while former President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth linked the 9/11 remembrance to ongoing conflicts with Iran and the broader War on Terror.
• For the first time, a moment of silence honored those who died from 9/11-related illnesses, with new documents revealing that officials knew about toxic exposure risks at Ground Zero but assured the public the air was safe.
• Memorial events also included readings of names at the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, commemorating victims of the attacks and the heroic passengers of Flight 93 who thwarted further destruction.