Treasury Secretary Bessent Moves to Military Base After Iranian Threats, Treasury Department Confirms

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has moved out of his Washington-area home and onto a military base after Iranian threats against his life. The New York Times reported the relocation Tuesday, Nov. 10, citing three people familiar with the matter. A Treasury spokesperson confirmed it.

"Secretary Bessent will not be deterred by the Iranian regime's threats," the spokesperson said, adding that he remains committed to the administration's campaign to squeeze Iran's economy.

A senior administration official told Fox News Digital that threats against Bessent "reached more than an advanced stage, which is why he and his family made the move." The official did not say when the family relocated.

What U.S. officials have said about the threat

The Times reported that in recent weeks, American officials concluded that Iranian plots against current and former U.S. officials had advanced further than previously assessed. Intelligence about threats to Bessent fed into that conclusion, according to the Times' sources, who spoke anonymously.

The nature and severity of the threats to Bessent remain unclear. No arrests or charges tied to a plot against him have been announced.

Last month, a senior Trump administration intelligence official warned in a memo reviewed by Reuters that Iranian plots against Americans had reached "advanced stages." The U.S. also raised security alerts for personnel across the Middle East and cut staffing at some diplomatic facilities after receiving intelligence about potential Iranian attacks.

U.S. officials have also said Iran's ability to carry out large-scale attacks inside the United States is limited. They still treat targeted plots against individuals as a serious concern.

Iran's position

Tehran has previously denied plotting attacks on U.S. officials or people on American soil. The sources do not include any new Iranian response to the Bessent report.

The administration's case rests on its own intelligence assessments, which have not been released publicly. There is precedent for the concern. In 2024, federal prosecutors charged Farhad Shakeri, whom they described as a Revolutionary Guard operative, in connection with a plot to assassinate Donald Trump in retaliation for the 2020 killing of Qassem Soleimani.

Why Bessent

Since August, Bessent has overseen a campaign of sanctions and trade-route restrictions aimed at cutting Iran off from international markets and starving the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which controls large parts of the Iranian economy. The operations have gone by names including "Economic Outcast" and "Economic Epic Fury."

The senior administration official told Fox News the move "shows that Treasury's strategy regarding Iran is working because Iran is trying to get to the architect of that strategy." That is the official's characterization. It is not an independently established fact.

Bessent has framed the goal as getting Tehran back to the table. "The goal here is to create the conditions that they will want to come to the table," he told NBC News in September. He listed the demands: give up the nuclear program, turn over highly enriched uranium, stop supporting proxies, and open the strait.

U.S. intelligence has reportedly assessed that economic pain may not produce regime change. Iran's hard-line leadership is determined to hold on to power at nearly any cost, according to the Times.

A growing list of protected officials

Bessent is not the first. At least half a dozen Trump administration officials have moved out of Washington-area homes and onto military bases or other secure housing since last year. They include Stephen Miller, now White House chief of staff, and former Attorney General Pam Bondi.

The Times tied the rise in credible threats to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and to the U.S.-Iran war.

The war around it

The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began Feb. 28. It has killed thousands and displaced millions, and U.S. and Israeli strikes have killed senior Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Shipping in the Strait of Hormuz remains under attack. The Washington Institute for Near East Policy counted 37 ships struck in October, the highest monthly total since the war began.

On Monday, Trump said that from a military standpoint the conflict was "effectively over," and that Iran's capabilities had been significantly weakened. There is speculation that he could order fresh strikes following the midterm elections.

Iran, for its part, says there are no ongoing negotiations with Washington. It insists the U.S. accept seven conditions for an immediate end to the fighting, including an end to hostilities on all fronts.

The open questions are practical ones. Treasury has not said when Bessent moved or how long he will stay. Nor has the administration said whether the pressure campaign will change course. The administration shows no sign of easing it.