Scott Bessent moved to military base after Iran threats reach 'advanced stage': Report
WASHINGTON, DC: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has become the latest senior Trump administration official forced to leave his Washington residence amid reported threats to his life from Iran.
The 64-year-old Treasury chief has reportedly been shifted to a military base in recent weeks after intelligence determined the threats had reached an advanced stage, The New York Times reported.
The precise nature and severity of the threats against Bessent remain unclear, but the reported warnings fit a broader pattern of Iranian threats targeting senior US officials.
Iran’s threat against Trump officials reaches a more advanced stage
Bessent has been the face of White House’s economic pressure campaign meant to isolate Iran financially through tougher sanctions and restrictions on trade routes. The role has put him on the list of Trump administration officials targeted by Iran, which has been at war with Washington since the February attack.
Amid the threats, US officials have noted that Iran’s ability to carry out large-scale attacks in the United States and other territories overseas is limited.
However, Iran, in the past, has made severe threats against individuals, including the July incident, which forced President Donald Trump to swap aircraft before departing the NATO summit in Turkey.
A Treasury Department spokesperson said Bessent “will not be deterred by the Iranian regime’s threats,” reaffirming that the Treasury chief remains determined to press ahead with the administration’s campaign to squeeze Iran’s economy.
Bessent is the latest entry in the list of Trump officials leaving Washington homes for a military base or other protected housing. In the last year, a number of officials have adopted the same strategy, including Stephen Miller, now the White House chief of staff, and Pam Bondi, then the attorney general.
In Bondi’s case, the relocation was reportedly prompted in part by a surge in threats she received following the US military’s capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from a hideout in Caracas and his transfer to New York to face federal criminal charges.
US charges 3 Iranian-backed operatives accused of involvement in attack on UK airbase
The reports of Bessent’s alleged move came amid the Justice Department’s announcements of charging three men described as "Iranian operatives" over their alleged role in a foiled plot at Britain's RAF Fairford airbase.
"To date, the subjects have been allegedly involved in nearly 20 attempted attacks throughout Europe and the United States in support of Kata'ib Hizballah and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, two US designated foreign te**orist organizations," FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement.
The three have been charged with conspiring to provide material support to a foreign te**orist organization, conspiring to provide material support for acts of te**orism, providing material support for acts of te**orism, conspiring to bomb a place of public use, and financing te**orism.
This came as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has accused Iran of “outrageous and ridiculous” demands as efforts to reach a lasting resolution in the Middle East war appeared stalled.
Speaking to reporters in Florida on Sunday evening ahead of his departure for Paris to attend the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting, Rubio suggested that Washington and Tehran remained far apart on negotiations. His remarks came after Iran proposed bringing forward the timeline for resuming talks from seven days to just two.
He went on to claim that Trump would prefer to resolve “this and every problem diplomatically,” but acknowledged that “sometimes that’s not possible, unfortunately.”
