US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has moved from his home in Washington to a US military base after Iranian threats against his life. The Bessent military base move was first reported by the New York Times on Tuesday, citing sources with knowledge of the matter, and Treasury department officials later confirmed it.
FAKTA
- Who: Scott Bessent, the US Secretary of the Treasury
- What happened: Bessent moved from his Washington home to a US military base
- Why: Iranian threats against his life, according to the New York Times
- Confirmed by: Treasury department officials; the severity of the threats is not immediately clear
- First reported: Tuesday 10 November 2026
- Context: Bessent has led the US sanctions campaign against Iran, known as Operation Economic Outcast, since August
Bessent military base move confirmed by Treasury
The New York Times first reported the move on Tuesday, citing sources with knowledge of the matter. Reuters, citing two people familiar with the matter, reported that Bessent had recently moved from his Washington residence to a US military base after Iranian threats against his life.
Treasury department officials confirmed the move and said Bessent would “not be deterred by the Iranian regime’s threats”, the Times and Fox News reported. The location of the base was not included in the reports, and the severity of the threats was not immediately clear.
According to a source familiar with the matter, security concerns around Bessent increased after a photo of his house was published in an article. Reuters reported that the Wall Street Journal had published an aerial view of the Georgetown mansion Bessent bought for $12.5 million shortly after his confirmation as Treasury secretary in January 2025, and that the photo allowed his home to be geolocated.
Iran’s plots against US officials said to be at an advanced stage
Iran has ramped up efforts to target US personnel, Reuters reported. A senior intelligence official in the Trump administration warned in a memo seen by Reuters late last month that lethal plots by Tehran against American citizens had reached “advanced stages”. Iran has previously denied plotting to attack officials and people on US soil.
Scott Bessent has led Washington’s economic pressure campaign against Iran since August.
The move follows an announcement by FBI Director Kash Patel earlier on 10 November that the Department of Justice had indicted three Iranian-backed operatives suspected of being behind nearly 20 plots across the United States and Europe. According to the Department of Justice, the trio attempted to stage attacks on Jewish communities in the United States and Britain and were involved in the suspected plot at the RAF Fairford airbase in Britain, where American service members were stationed.
Bessent leads the pressure campaign on Iran
Bessent has led the US sanctions and economic pressure campaign against Iran, dubbed Operation Economic Outcast, since August, in an effort to push Tehran to end attacks on shipping and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported.
Reuters described the conflict as the US-Israeli war on Iran, which it said began on 28 February and is now in its ninth month. Pentagon officials told Congress at the end of October that the war has so far cost over $47 billion, according to USA Today.
Other top officials have also moved to military bases
Bessent is the latest top Trump administration official to move onto a military base amid suspected threats, USA Today reported. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth are neighbours on a military base in Washington DC, Rubio previously said on a podcast, and former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem also lived on a Washington-area base towards the end of her tenure. White House chief of staff Stephen Miller moved onto military housing in September 2025 after facing what he described as harassment at his home in Virginia, The Atlantic reported.
The move underlines how the conflict with Iran is now touching senior American officials at home as well as US forces abroad. Treasury officials said the secretary would not be deterred by the threats and remains committed to the economic pressure campaign.
