Reuters, citing informed sources, reported that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was recently moved from his home in the capital, Washington, to a military base after receiving an Iranian threat against his life. The news was first revealed by The New York Times. At the end of last month, a senior intelligence official in the Donald Trump administration had also warned that Iran’s plans to target Americans had reached an advanced stage.
According to the report, since August Scott Bessent has overseen a campaign of severe sanctions and Washington’s economic pressure on Tehran, known as the “economic isolation process,” aimed at forcing Iran to stop its attacks on ships and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which has remained partially closed since the U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran on February 28. The economic pressure campaign, carried out alongside a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports, includes sanctions against branches of Middle Eastern banks and financial-services companies that facilitate Iran’s financial transactions.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the U.S. Treasury Department reiterated that Iran cannot deter their secretary, who remains committed to implementing the economic isolation process and continuing the sanctions—measures that together are contributing to Iran’s economic collapse. The New York Times also noted that the level of danger posed by the threats directed at Bessent remains unclear.
An informed source explained that security concerns surrounding the Treasury secretary increased after The Wall Street Journal published an aerial photograph of the mansion Bessent had bought for $12.5 million in the Georgetown area, shortly after he was confirmed as Treasury secretary in January 2025. The source said the image exposed the home’s geographic location and that Bessent was therefore moved to a military base for his personal safety.
The report concluded that Iran had previously denied planning attacks against officials and prominent figures on U.S. soil. American officials also say Iran’s ability to carry out large-scale attacks inside the United States and elsewhere abroad is limited. It is worth noting that U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, as well as Israeli attacks on Lebanon during the war, have killed thousands and displaced millions more. They also led to the deaths of senior Iranian officials, including Ali Khamenei, Iran’s former supreme leader.
