Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has moved from his Washington-area home to a military base after Iranian threats against his life, according to a report published Tuesday.
The New York Times, citing three people familiar with the matter, reported that Bessent recently relocated after American officials concluded that Iranian plots against current and former U.S. officials had reached a more advanced stage. The intelligence assessment reportedly included specific threats against the Treasury secretary.
“Secretary Bessent will not be deterred by the Iranian regime’s threats,” a Treasury Department spokesperson said in a statement to the Times, adding that he remains committed to the administration’s effort to squeeze Iran’s economy.
Bessent has become a prominent figure in the Trump administration’s effort to economically isolate Tehran. Since August, he has overseen “economic D-day,” a campaign of sanctions and financial restrictions designed to cut off Iran’s access to international markets and weaken the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which controls significant portions of the country’s economy.
The severity of the threats against Bessent is unclear. U.S. officials have said Iran has limited capacity to carry out large-scale attacks inside the United States, but have treated targeted plots against individual Americans as a serious concern.
The relocation makes Bessent the latest senior Trump administration official to move into protected housing over security concerns. At least half a dozen officials have moved out of their Washington-area homes and onto military bases or other secure locations since last year, including Stephen Miller, now White House chief of staff, and former Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Last month, a senior intelligence official warned in a government memo reviewed by Reuters that Iranian plots against Americans had reached “advanced stages.” The United States also heightened security alerts for personnel across the Middle East and reduced staffing at some diplomatic facilities after receiving intelligence about potential Iranian attacks.
Iran has previously denied plotting attacks against American officials on U.S. soil.
Tehran has a history of threatening U.S. officials involved in the 2020 killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani, who led the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force. President Donald Trump ordered the drone strike that killed Soleimani in January 2020.
In 2024, federal prosecutors charged Farhad Shakeri with participating in a plot to assassinate Trump in retaliation for Soleimani’s death. Prosecutors described Shakeri as a Revolutionary Guard operative. Several other former Trump national security officials involved in the strike also faced Iranian threats.
Bessent’s relocation also comes as the administration continues its economic pressure campaign against Tehran during the U.S.-Israeli war, which began on February 28. Trump has repeatedly promised to bring the conflict to an end.
