Pete Hegseth sends chilling 4-word death vow to America's worst enemies

The defense secretary warned groups who threatened the lives of Americans will be hunted down and killed by the Trump administration.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth warned groups who threaten the lives of Americans "we will kill you" in a fiery press conference Monday, 48 hours after war with Iran erupted.

U.S.-Israeli attacks, carried out on Saturday, killed several high-ranking members of Iran's political structure, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. A counterattack by Iran also killed nine people in Beit Shemesh, near Jerusalem, and injured 28.

Speaking from the Pentagon, Hegseth told the world: "If you kill Americans, if you threaten Americans anywhere on earth, we will hunt you down without apology and without hesitation, and we will kill you."

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"It took the 47th president, a fighter who always puts America first, to finally draw the line after 47 years of Iranian belligerence," Hegseth said. "He reminded the world, as he has time and time again, being an American means something unbreakable."

"If you kill Americans, if you threaten Americans anywhere on earth," he warned. "We will hunt you down without apology and without hesitation, and we will kill you."

Comments on X were mixed. Several seemed to support the Defense Secretary, while others slammed Hegseth.

One accused Hegseth of being a warmonger.

"They're really acting like this notion of Donald being the 'president of peace' never existed," sneered another person. "He just wants the opportunity to say these words into a microphone. It wasn’t enough to put them into an X post. Because that’s what his whole speech was—him reading from that very post," a fourth stated.

Others defended the Secretary's words. "That’s a pretty clear message. If you believe it, you’ll find out the hard way. The toughest administration ever," one person stated.

"I voted for this," a second said proudly.

War explodes in Middle East

Iran and allied armed groups fired missiles at Israel, Arab states and U.S. military targets around the region on Monday, while Israel and the United States pounded Iran as the war expanded to several fronts.

Kuwait mistakenly shot down three American warplanes over its skies. The intensity of the attacks, the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei, and the lack of any apparent exit plan indicated the conflict would not end anytime soon.

It was already having far-reaching consequences: Previously safe havens in the Mideast like Dubai have seen incoming fire; hundreds of thousands of airline passengers are stranded around the globe; oil prices shot up; and U.S. allies pledged to help stop Iranian missiles and drones.

Iran has long threatened, if attacked, to drag the region into total war, including targeting Israel, the Gulf Arab states and the flow of crude oil crucial for global energy markets. All of these came under attack on Monday.