USAupdated 21m ago3 min read
Archive photo · 6 February 2025Scott Bessent Moved to Undisclosed US Military Base After Iranian Threats
“threats against Bessent had reached ‘more than an advanced stage.’”
“The severity and scope of the Iranian threats to Bessent are not immediately clear”
Photo: United States Department of the Treasury / US federal government, Public domain · Cropped for layout
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Bessent relocated from Washington, D.C. area to an undisclosed US military base over Iranian threats. The threats to his life were Iranian; severity unclear.
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Bessent to base
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent moved from his home in Washington, DC, to an undisclosed US military base after Iranian threats against his life, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.
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.
A Treasury Department spokesperson told reporters that Bessent “will not be deterred by the Iranian regime’s threats,” while the spokesperson added he “remains committed to executing the campaign to squeeze Iran’s economy.”
The Hill said a source familiar with the situation linked the move to security concerns that rose after the Wall Street Journal published an aerial photo of Bessent’s Georgetown mansion, which the source said he purchased for $12.5 million.
ABC News said Bessent was quietly moved to a military base in Washington in the last few weeks because of Iranian threats, and it added that the Trump administration had not detailed the nature of the threats.
Threats, targeting, and quotes
A senior administration official told Fox News that threats against Bessent had reached “more than an advanced stage,” while the official declined to say when exactly Bessent was relocated.
A spokesperson emailed to Reuters stated that “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 US national intelligence chief Jay Clayton warned last month that Tehran had “substantially increased” its efforts to target Americans in the Middle East and beyond.
The New York Times described the severity of the threats to Bessent as unclear, while it said U.S. officials had deemed specific targeted threats serious, including a murder-for-hire plot against President Trump during the 2024 campaign.
USA Today reported that a source familiar with the matter confirmed the move on Nov. 11 and said it followed a rise in security concerns after a photo of Bessent’s house was published in an article.
Operation Economic Outcast
The Treasury Department spokesperson in multiple reports tied Bessent’s security move to his role in a sanctions campaign, saying he remained committed to executing Operation Economic Outcast and maintaining the blockade. Bessent has led a US economic pressure campaign against Iran, dubbed Operation Economic Outcast, since August to try to push Tehran to end attacks on shipping and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The crucial waterway has been largely closed since the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February, and the economic pressure campaign coincided with a US naval blockade of Iranian ports.
USA Today said Pentagon officials told Congress at the end of October that the war has thus far cost over $47 billion, and it added that Iran’s move to close the Strait of Hormuz caused gas prices to skyrocket. The New York Times said Bessent is the latest senior Trump administration official to leave a Washington-area home for a military base or other protected housing, and it cited at least half a dozen such moves last year including Stephen Miller and Pam Bondi.
