Washington’s economic war against Tehran is beginning to hit a nerve, and the man leading that campaign has now found himself in the crosshairs.US treasury secretary Scott Bessent has revealed that he was forced to move from his Washington residence to a military base following death threats linked to Iran.But Bessent is refusing to be intimidated, arguing that the threats against him and other senior US officials show that President Donald Trump‘s financial squeeze on Tehran is working.His message to Iran’s leadership was blunt: “F the Iranian leadership. I’m not gonna be cowered.”Speaking during an interview with CNBC, Bessent said the threats were directed not only at him but also at other members of Trump’s cabinet. He linked the threats to Washington’s economic offensive against Tehran, dubbed “Operation Economic Outcast”, arguing that the campaign was beginning to hurt Iran.Describing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as increasingly desperate under mounting economic pressure, Bessent compared its actions to those of a “dangerous cornered animal”.He also said he saw no reason to be intimidated when American military personnel stationed in the Gulf and President Donald Trump himself continued to face death threats.“And, you know, why am I gonna be afraid when our brave military personnel in the Gulf, President Trump constantly receives death threats? And, you know, what we are doing is working, and the IRGC, they’re like a dangerous cornered animal,” he said.Bessent has led the Trump administration’s economic pressure campaign against Iran since August. According to Reuters, Operation Economic Outcast involves sanctions targeting financial institutions and services in the Middle East that facilitate transactions with Tehran. The campaign, combined with a US naval blockade of Iranian ports, is aimed at pressuring Iran to end attacks on shipping and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.The security concerns come amid broader US intelligence warnings about Iranian targeting efforts. A senior intelligence official in the Trump administration warned in a memo seen by Reuters last month that Iranian plots against US personnel and American citizens had reached an “advanced stage”.Bessent also accused The Wall Street Journal of compromising his security by publishing an aerial photograph of his Georgetown residence in January 2025, which he said contained information that made the property geolocatable. He claimed his team had appealed to the newspaper’s editor not to disclose the location.“So, I follow the Secret Service instructions and have moved from my home to a military base,” Bessent told CNBC, before describing the newspaper’s decision as “highly irresponsible and dangerous”.Trump, meanwhile, issued a fresh warning to Tehran, saying those responsible for killing a US official “will not exist any longer”. In a phone interview with Salem News Channel, the US president was asked how Washington would respond if Iran targeted an American official, including Bessent.