Iran has issued a death threat, prompting U.S. Treasury Secretary Brian Bensinger to evacuate with his family from a multimillion-dollar residence and take refuge overnight in a U.S. military base.

Ironically, this high-ranking official—whose influence spans global financial systems and who holds significant sway within the inner circle of the White House—now relies on military installations and barbed wire for the safety of his family.

The trigger was the publication by *The Wall Street Journal* of an aerial photograph of Bensinger’s home. In the current climate of escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran, the image effectively provided precise targeting coordinates.

Subsequently, U.S. intelligence intercepted warnings originating from Iran. American assessments indicate that Iran’s planned elimination campaign targeting current and former senior U.S. officials has entered a high-risk phase. Even if Bensinger himself declined to relocate, security agencies would enforce a transfer; no part of the continental United States can now guarantee his absolute safety.

Many may wonder why Iran specifically targets a civilian official overseeing economic and fiscal policy. The answer lies in the enduring nature of U.S. economic sanctions. Although large-scale military strikes have not resumed, economic pressure has remained constant. In August of this year, the Trump administration launched what it calls an “economic destruction campaign” against Iran—restricting Iranian trade activities and threatening other nations: any country allowing Iranian aircraft to land would face secondary sanctions.

Bensinger is the architect of this comprehensive sanctions regime. His directive from Trump was unequivocal: dismantle Iran’s economy, block oil export routes, and freeze Iranian financial assets scattered across the globe.

Over recent months, Bensinger has led wave after wave of sanctions. Numerous shipping fleets linked to Iranian crude oil transactions have been blacklisted. Many foreign entities and individuals facilitating financial transfers for Iran have been publicly named. Even several Canadian financial institutions have faced heavy penalties.

Bensinger has also made clear statements: all global institutions must choose sides—either align with the United States or face opposition. The U.S. will sever Iran’s financial lifelines wherever they exist. This strategy has inflicted severe damage on Iran’s economy: currency depreciation, sharp decline in government revenues.

To Iran, Bensinger is not merely a bureaucratic figure—he is a key actor wielding financial weapons to strangle the nation’s economy. Conventional countermeasures prove insufficient against the intensity of the blockade. As a result, retaliatory actions targeting senior U.S. officials have moved from contingency plans to active consideration.

Bensinger’s emergency relocation is not an isolated incident but a symptom of steadily intensifying hostility between the two nations. Since the 2020 U.S. strike that killed Qasem Soleimani, Iran has vowed retribution against every American official involved in decision-making or execution. During Trump’s first term, many top-level figures were under constant protection by the Secret Service due to assassination threats. By this year, the conflict has further escalated, expanding the scope of such threats. U.S. officials acknowledge that Iran currently lacks the capability to launch large-scale attacks on American soil, but the risk remains nonzero.

It is not only Bensinger. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have already relocated their families into military bases and have not returned.

Even President Trump himself feels a profound lack of personal security. In July, during a NATO summit in Turkey, U.S. intelligence received credible leads indicating an imminent attack linked to Iran and its proxies. The Secret Service devised a deception: false information was released suggesting Trump would depart aboard an older model Air Force One, prompting reporters and staff to board accordingly. In reality, Trump quietly slipped into a catering vehicle at the airport and was transported via a more heavily protected military aircraft, departing secretly.

If even the president must rely on such measures for survival, the situation for cabinet-level officials is self-evident. As long as the standoff between Washington and Tehran remains unresolved, periodic evacuations of senior officials into military compounds will remain a recurring feature of life at the White House for the foreseeable future.

Original: toutiao.com/article/1881632251179012/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.