This file photo shows U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has relocated from his residence to a military base following threats to his life from Iran, media reports said on Nov 10.
U.S. officials determined in recent weeks that Iranian plots targeting current and former American officials had reached a more advanced stage, partly based on intelligence concerning threats against Bessent, The Washington Post reported, citing three people familiar with the matter.
Bessent, who has led a U.S. economic pressure campaign against Iran since August through tighter sanctions and restrictions on trade routes, has become one of the administration officials Tehran is particularly keen to target, according to the report.
U.S. officials have said Iran has limited capabilities to carry out large-scale attacks in the U.S. and other countries, but have identified specific threats targeting individuals as serious, including an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate President Donald Trump during his 2024 election campaign.
In a statement, a Treasury Department spokesperson said Bessent “will not be deterred by the Iranian regime’s threats,” adding that he remains committed to pursuing the campaign aimed at putting further pressure on Iran’s economy.
Bessent is the latest senior Trump administration official to relocate from a Washington-area residence to a military base or other secure accommodation. At least six senior officials made similar moves last year, including Stephen Miller, now White House chief of staff, and Pam Bondi, who was serving as attorney general at the time.
The administration has not disclosed the full extent of the threats against senior officials, which are not all linked to Iran. In Bondi’s case, the threats were reportedly linked in part to an increase in threats she received after the U.S. military captured former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas and brought him to New York to face federal criminal charges, according to the report.
A key aim of Bessent’s campaign is to cut funding to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), with the administration hoping the economic pressure will help avoid renewed U.S. military operations.
While U.S. officials say the campaign has weakened Iran’s economy and currency, U.S. intelligence suggests Iran’s hard-line leadership remains determined to retain power at almost any cost, indicating that economic pressure alone may not bring about regime change, according to two officials familiar with the intelligence.
