Bessent leaves his Washington-area home for a military base after Iran threatens to kill him, reports say

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent left his home in the Washington DC area for a military base following an Iranian threat to his life, the New York Times reported, followed by the Reuters news agency. Both cite people familiar with the matter.

CBS News has contacted the Treasury Department and the White House for comment.

Bessent spearheaded a US campaign to cripple the Iranian economy, promising an “economic attack” against Tehran through a network of sanctions.

US national intelligence chief Jay Clayton warned last month that Iran had “significantly increased” its efforts to target Americans in the Middle East and beyond.

Those efforts include stepping up targeting of current and former U.S. officials such as Bessent, the Times reported. The Iranian plot against U.S. officials has reached a “more advanced stage,” according to the anonymous sources, but the seriousness of the threats against Bessent is unclear.

A Treasury Department spokesperson said in a statement to the Times that Bessent “will not be deterred by the Iranian regime’s threats” and is still committed to its campaign to squeeze the Iranian economy.

Clayton’s warning, contained in an unclassified memo sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and obtained by CBS News, came as the State Department adjustment of personnel in diplomatic posts in the Middle Eastand the U.S. military has reduced its footprint in the region, amid concerns about direct threats from Iran and threats from the Iranian-backed Houthi movement in Yemen.

The US military also removed some planes from two British bases in recent weeks following threats from Iran.

Diplomatic efforts to end the war are gaining momentum, with Rubio saying Tuesday that he didn’t see the need to resume major combat operations against Iran because economic sanctions and other restrictions were working very effectively.