'If you kill or threaten Americans… will hunt, kill you': Hegseth invokes Neeson’s ‘Taken' in warning amid Iran crisis

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Saturday said that the large US-Israeli attack, on Iran, which Washington asserts killed the country’s supreme leader, demonstrated that those who harm Americans must be held accountable and made to pay a price for their action. He invoked actor Liam Neeson’s “Taken” in warning amid the crisis.

"If you kill or threaten Americans anywhere in the world -- as Iran has -- then we will hunt you down, and we will kill you," Hegseth said on X.

In the 2008 thriller Taken, Liam Neeson delivered an iconic warning as Bryan Mills, a former CIA agent whose daughter is kidnapped in Paris. The phone call scene features the famous monologue: “...what I do have are a very particular set of skills... if you don’t [let her go], I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you”.

Hegseth stated, "Overnight, on President Trump's orders, the Department of War commenced OPERATION EPIC FURY -- the most lethal, most complex, and most-precision aerial operation in history. The Iranian regime had their chance, yet refused to make a deal -- and now they are suffering the consequences. For almost fifty years, Iran has targeted and killed Americans, always seeking the world's most powerful weapons to further their radical cause."

Hegseth said that Trump had taken unprecedented action to confront what he described as a longstanding threat, referring to it as a “cancer.” He stated that the United States would not allow powerful missiles to target the American people and vowed that such weapons, along with Iran’s missile production capabilities, would be eliminated. He added that Iran’s navy would also be destroyed and reiterated Trump’s longstanding position that Iran would never be permitted to obtain a nuclear weapon.

Hegseth further said that while the United States did not initiate the conflict, it would bring it to an end. He claimed that US forces were the best in the world and had been fully empowered to accomplish their objectives, concluding with a prayer for their protection in what he described as a critical mission.

Khamenei’s death followed strikes carried out by the United States and Israel on Saturday, reportedly under the names Operation Epic Fury and Lion’s Roar. By declaring a full 40 days of mourning, the authorities appear to be drawing on a powerful religious and cultural tradition, while also allowing the clerical leadership time to oversee a sensitive political transition away from public view.

The Supreme Leader’s office has announced nationwide mourning, with flags lowered to half-mast and public ceremonies planned to honour him, signaling the end of a 37-year era in the Islamic Republic.

Khamenei succeeded the founder of the Revolution, Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1989. Over the decades, his leadership was marked by a consistent posture of resistance toward Western influence.

Meanwhile, security has been tightened across the country, especially in major cities such as Tehran, as authorities move to prevent unrest and maintain order.

(With inputs from agency)