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After receiving death threats from Iran, US Treasury Secretary Besant was asked by the Secret Service to leave her mansion and go to a military base. He nevertheless stressed that he would not bow to Iran and said that the Trump administration’s economic pressure has put Tehran in crisis.
According to the New York Post, the Treasury SecretaryBesant (Scott Besant) was publicly criticized on Fridayiran The regime even directly said, “Defraud the Iranian leadership.” He revealed that he was forced to leave his $12.5 million mansion in Georgetown and move to a military base under instructions from the Secret Service after receiving death threats.
“The death threats he has made against me will not force me to bow down,” Besant said in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Friday. He confirmed that he was transferred on the instructions of the Secret Service.
He also stressed that “other members of the Cabinet will not give up.”
Besant’s move first came to light on Wednesday. Earlier, US officials had expressed concerns that Iran could jeopardize their personal security. As Treasury Secretary, Besant is currently a key promoter of President Trump’s economic pressure campaign on Iran, which is seeking to severely damage the Tehran regime financially through massive sanctions.
Last month, a senior intelligence official warned in a declassified memo that Iran’s plot to target US officials and civilians had reached a highly sophisticated stage.
It is unclear how serious the specific threats against Besant are, and Iran has in the past denied plotting attacks on American officials or carrying out attacks on American soil.
Besant believes that these threats prove that the Trump administration’s strategy of economic pressure on Iran is working and has put Tehran in crisis.
“What we are doing is really working,” he said, describing Iran as “a dangerous beast that has been cornered.”
He then asked, “When our brave military personnel are performing missions in the Persian Gulf and President Trump continues to receive death threats, what do I have to fear?”
According to reports, Besant’s security concerns increased further in January 2025. At that time, after purchasing the Georgetown mansion for $12.5 million, the Wall Street Journal published an aerial photograph of the property.
Besant hit out at the newspaper in an interview on Friday, saying that her team had asked the newspaper’s editors not to publish the photograph as it could reveal the exact location of her house.
He criticized the decision as “extremely irresponsible and very dangerous” and insisted that “things like this have to stop.”
A person familiar with the matter told Reuters that the photo allowed outsiders to confirm the property’s location through geolocation, further heightening security concerns around Besant.
Since August, Besant has led the Trump administration’s economic pressure campaign on Iran, a program called Operation Economic Outcast.
The operation targeted financial institutions and other businesses accused of facilitating financial transactions in Iran. In addition, the United States has imposed a naval blockade of Iranian ports, further increasing pressure on Tehran.
