US Treasury’s Bessent says he won’t be cowed by Iranian death threats

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent say he will not be cowed by Iranian threats against his life, after recently moving from his Washington, DC, residence to a US military base.

“Why am I going to be afraid when our, the brave military personnel in the Gulf, President (Donald) Trump, constantly receive death threats?” Bessent says in an interview on CNBC.

Iran has denied plotting to attack officials and people on US soil.

But Bessent adds that Iran is acting “like a dangerous cornered animal. So I follow Secret Service instructions and have moved from my home to a military base.”

Bessent says he had to move in part because The Wall Street Journal published an aerial photo of his Georgetown home in January 2025.

“Highly irresponsible and dangerous, and things like that have to stop,” he says.

A senior intelligence official in the Trump administration warned in a memo seen by Reuters late last month that Iranian plots against US personnel and American citizens had reached an advanced stage.

Bessent has led the US sanctions and 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 February 28.

The economic pressure campaign, which coincides with a US naval blockade of Iranian ports, has included sanctions on Middle Eastern bank branches and other financial services firms facilitating transactions with Iran.