Bessent relocates to US military base amid Iranian threats, sources say
The US Treasury secretary has left his Washington home for a military base as intelligence warnings point to Iranian threats against American officials.
By Larissa Bell ·
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently relocated from his home in Washington, DC, to a US military base because of Iranian threats against his life, three people familiar with the situation said Tuesday. The New York Times first disclosed the move, although its report said the severity of the threats was not immediately clear.
The relocation follows a warning from a senior intelligence official in the Trump administration that Iranian plans to target US personnel and American citizens were at an advanced stage. Reuters reviewed the official’s memo late last month. According to the Times, intelligence concerning specific threats to Bessent contributed to that assessment.
Bessent has overseen Washington’s sanctions and economic pressure effort against Iran, known as Operation Economic Outcast. Since August, the campaign has sought to compel Tehran to halt attacks on shipping and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The vital shipping route has remained largely closed since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28.
Alongside a US naval blockade of Iranian ports, the campaign has imposed sanctions on Middle Eastern bank branches and other financial services businesses that facilitate transactions with Iran. In an emailed response, a Treasury spokesperson said the threats would not deter Bessent from pursuing the operation and maintaining the blockade. The spokesperson also asserted that the combined measures were causing Iran’s economy to collapse.
A person familiar with the matter said concerns about Bessent’s security intensified after the Wall Street Journal published an aerial photograph of his Georgetown mansion. Bessent purchased the property for $12.5 million shortly after his confirmation as Treasury secretary in January 2025. The source said the image made it possible to identify the home’s location and that increased Iranian efforts to target US officials prompted his relocation for safety.
Bessent is among at least six senior US officials who have moved into military bases or secure housing during the past year, according to the Times. The newspaper identified Stephen Miller, now the White House chief of staff, as another official who had made such a move.
Several media reports have also described Israeli intelligence from recent months indicating that Iran was seeking to target American and Israeli officials. Iran has previously rejected allegations that it planned attacks against officials and other people on US territory.
The disclosure about Bessent followed a Wall Street Journal report a day earlier that an Iranian threat had led the United States to divert refueling tankers from a UK airbase. Last month, the US Air Force withdrew bombers from RAF Fairford in England after an investigation into an alleged planned terrorist attack there. The base had supported operations against Iran.
