Trump honors soldiers killed in Iran war, lays wreath on Memorial Day

President Donald Trump honored the 13 United States service members killed during the Iran war as part of the traditional Memorial Day observance at Arlington National Cemetery, saying they died to ensure Iran “will never have a nuclear weapon.”

“We lost 13 wonderful souls, wonderful, special people,” Trump said on May 25, after laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the military cemetery in Virginia, just outside Washington, DC.

The annual holiday commemorating slain American service members comes as the Iran war nears the three-month mark and Trump touts progress on turning a six-week ceasefire into a permanent peace deal.

In addition to the 13 deaths, the war has cost the United States at least $29 billion and greatly disrupted the global energy supply, roiling economies and driving up gas prices and overall inflation. Polling shows most Americans oppose the war.

Trump has said the sacrifice is worth it to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb. He emphasized Monday that he’s determined to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran.

“They will never have a nuclear weapon,” the president said during his remarks at the ceremony to a crowd that included veterans and family members of slain soldiers, including the family of a soldier who died in the Iran war.

The nuclear issue has come up in negotiations over ending a war that began on Feb. 28. Trump also is pushing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the world’s oil is shipped.

Trump suggested on Saturday, May 23, that a peace deal was imminent, but later said that he'd told his negotiators not to rush.

“Negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran are proceeding nicely! It will only be a Great Deal for all or, no Deal at all,” Trump said on social media May 25.

Trump was joined at Arlington National Cemetery by Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Dan Caine.