US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has moved from his Washington home to a US military base after Iranian threats against his life. The New York Times broke the story on Tuesday. Reuters confirmed it through two people familiar with the matter. The Times said it was not clear how serious the threats were.
Bessent has run the US sanctions and economic pressure campaign against Iran since August. The campaign is called Operation Economic Outcast. It aims to push Tehran to stop attacking shipping and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway has been largely closed since the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. The Guardian reported that Bessent has vowed the "economic asphyxiation" of Iran.
The campaign runs alongside a US naval blockade of Iranian ports, which Al Jazeera said was announced in April. It also targets Middle Eastern bank branches and other financial firms that handle transactions with Iran.
A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that fears for Bessent's safety grew after the Wall Street Journal published an aerial photo of his Georgetown mansion. He bought the house for $12.5 million soon after his confirmation as Treasury secretary in January 2025. The photo allowed the home to be geolocated, the source said. The source added that the news media has a duty to act responsibly as threats against public officials grow.
A Treasury spokesperson said Bessent "will not be deterred by the Iranian regime's threats". The spokesperson said he remains committed to the campaign and the blockade, which "together are collapsing Iran's economy". Iran has previously denied plotting attacks on officials and people on US soil.
Bessent is not the only senior official to move. The Guardian reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and new chief of staff Stephen Miller have also left their homes. Both now live on military bases or in protected housing. Late last month, a senior intelligence official warned in a memo seen by Reuters that Iranian plots against US personnel and citizens had reached an advanced stage. US national intelligence chief Jay Clayton said last month that Tehran had "substantially increased" its efforts to target Americans. Citing three sources, the Times reported that this includes stepped-up targeting of current and former officials such as Bessent. US officials have noted that Iran's ability to carry out large-scale attacks in the US is limited, the Times reported.
The threats come as diplomatic efforts to end the war gather pace, the Guardian reported. On Tuesday, Rubio said US pressure on Iran's economy had made further attacks unnecessary. US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions. Those attacks also killed top Iranian officials, including the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.