Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was relocated from his D.C.-area home to a military base due to Iranian threats against his life, according to multiple reports.
U.S. officials concluded in recent weeks that Iranian plotting against current and former American officials had reached a “more advanced stage,” based in part on intelligence about threats to Mr. Bessent, The New York Times reported.
A Treasury Department spokesperson confirmed Mr. Bessent’s relocation to Fox News.
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The severity of the threats against him is unclear.
Mr. Bessent has led Operation Economic Outcast, a Treasury sanctions campaign launched Aug. 24 to cut off Iran’s financial and trade links. The Times reported that his role made him one of the officials Iran most wants to target.
Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton said in an unclassified Oct. 23 memo to Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Iran has “substantially increased” efforts to target U.S. personnel. CIA Director John Ratcliffe was copied on the memo.
Mr. Clayton said lethal plotting against U.S. citizens had reached “advanced stages” in the Middle East and certain other countries.
A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that security concerns grew after The Wall Street Journal published an aerial photo of Mr. Bessent’s home, which allowed it to be geolocated. Mr. Bessent bought the home for $12.5 million in January 2025, days after his Senate confirmation.
“The news media has an obligation to act responsibly amid growing threats against public officials,” the source said.
A Treasury spokesperson said Mr. Bessent remains committed to the campaign.
“The secretary will not be deterred by the Iranian regime’s threats and remains committed to executing Operation Economic Outcast and maintaining the blockade, which together are collapsing Iran’s economy,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
The U.S. announced a blockade of Iranian ports in April, during its war with Iran, which began Feb. 28.
Iran has said it did not plot to attack officials or people on U.S. soil.
When Treasury launched the campaign Aug. 24, Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei said no oil would be exported through the Strait of Hormuz or elsewhere in the Persian Gulf if the campaign continued.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran would retaliate, possibly against countries that cooperate with Washington.
The Department of Justice on Tuesday unsealed an indictment charging three men in connection with an attempted attack in September near RAF Fairford, a base in England. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said in October that Iran was involved in the incident. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected the claim.
Other senior officials have moved to secure housing in the past year for other reasons, including White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, former Attorney General Pam Bondi, Mr. Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Ms. Bondi’s move followed reported threats from drug cartels and anger over her handling of sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein files, The Times reported in March.
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