The US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, has confirmed for the first time that he left his Washington home for a military base after Iranian death threats.
According to the Jerusalem Post, Bessent said on Friday 13 November that he moved at the direction of the US Secret Service. In an interview with a financial news network he said:
"I'm not going to be cowered by the death threats they have made against me."
He used an expletive about Iran's leadership and described the IRGC as "a dangerous animal backed into a corner". He said the threats show that the "Operation Economic Outcast" sanctions campaign he leads is working. The campaign runs alongside the US naval blockade.
His account confirms what the New York Times first reported on Tuesday 10 November, with Reuters following the same day. Fox News, citing a senior administration official, said the threats had reached "more than an advanced stage".
Fox News also reports that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House chief of staff Stephen Miller were moved to protected housing. Bessent did not say this, and the claim has not been independently checked.
Al Jazeera, citing reports, says Iran is said to have geo-located Bessent's $12.5m Washington home after US media published an aerial view of it. Bessent called the Wall Street Journal's publication of a photo of his home "extremely irresponsible and dangerous conduct", the Jerusalem Post reports.