Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday that death threats from Iran’s leadership will not intimidate him or other members of President Trump’s Cabinet, and that the threats are a sign the administration’s economic pressure on Tehran is working.
“I’m not going to be cowed. They have initiated death threats against me,” Mr. Bessent said in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “It means what we are doing with Operation Economic Outcast is working.”
Mr. Bessent confirmed that he has moved from his Washington home to a military base, saying he was following instructions from the Secret Service. He described Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as acting “like a dangerous cornered animal.”
“Why am I going to be afraid when our, the brave military personnel in the Gulf, President Trump, constantly receive death threats?” he said.
Mr. Bessent has led Operation Economic Outcast since August. The campaign uses sanctions on financial institutions and other services that handle transactions with Iran, alongside a naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Earlier this week, a Treasury spokesperson said the secretary “will not be deterred by the Iranian regime’s threats and remains committed to executing Operation Economic Outcast and maintaining the blockade, which together are collapsing Iran’s economy.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth have also been reported to live on a military installation in Washington.
