Scott Bessent curses Iran's leaders and says threats will not scare him

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent directed an expletive at Iran's leadership and confirmed a move to a military base, The Jerusalem Post reported on Friday, rendering his words as 'F the Iranian leaders.' The newspaper's report did not explain in its available text what the move to a base involved or why it was made.

A fuller set of remarks attributed to Bessent was published in Hebrew by the Telegram channel Abu Ali Express. According to the channel's account, Bessent cursed the Iranian leadership and said that threats made against him would not frighten him. He also said Iran faced a long, cold winter, and that Iran had been offered a deal which it probably could have improved on had it acted before the elections. In the channel's version, Bessent added that President Donald Trump no longer believes the United States needs an agreement and that Washington will go on increasing pressure on Iran.

Who Scott Bessent is and why his words matter

Bessent heads the US Treasury Department, the arm of the American government that administers economic sanctions. That gives his comments on Iran more weight than a typical political remark: the pressure he refers to is, in large part, pressure his own department applies. A photograph accompanying the Jerusalem Post report shows him at a Treasury press conference in Washington on August 24, 2026, which the caption says was held to outline further sanctions against Iran.

The phrase he is reported to have used about a 'long and cold winter' fits that role. It reads as a signal that economic measures against Iran are set to continue, though neither report spells out any new specific sanction, target or timetable.

The two accounts, side by side

The two reports agree on the central point: Bessent used an obscenity about Iran's leaders. They differ in what else they carry. The Jerusalem Post's available text focuses on the curse and on the confirmation of a move to a military base. Abu Ali Express does not mention a base at all, but includes three separate statements covering threats against Bessent, the coming winter for Iran, and the status of a possible deal.

The two may be linked. Abu Ali Express quotes Bessent as saying threats against him would not scare him, and The Jerusalem Post reports a move to a military base. However, neither outlet connects the two in the material available, and this report does not draw that connection for them.

Both outlets' wording reflects their own rendering. The Jerusalem Post's headline softens the expletive to a single letter, and Abu Ali Express partly masks the equivalent Hebrew word with asterisks. Bessent's remarks on winter, a deal and pressure reached us only in Hebrew translation, so the English given here is our paraphrase rather than his exact words.

What Bessent said about a deal

According to Abu Ali Express, Bessent said Iran had been offered a deal, and that the Iranians likely could have secured better terms before the elections. He did not, in that account, say which elections he meant, what the deal contained or when it was put on the table.

The more consequential line in the channel's version is the one about the White House. Bessent is quoted as saying that Trump does not currently think the United States needs an agreement with Iran, and that pressure will be stepped up. That is Bessent's characterisation of the president's view as reported by one outlet; no statement from Trump himself appears in the material.

Why this is followed closely in Israel

Iran's leadership and its relations with Washington are a central concern for Israeli readers, which is why Israeli outlets in both English and Hebrew picked up the remarks within hours of each other. Statements from senior American officials on whether a deal with Tehran is wanted, or whether pressure will rise instead, are read in Israel as indicators of US policy direction.

What the reports do not say

• Where and in what setting Bessent spoke, whether in an interview, a press conference or elsewhere, is not stated in the material.
• Neither report identifies who made the threats Bessent referred to, or what form they took.
• The Jerusalem Post's available text does not say which military base is involved, who is moving there, or why.
• Which elections Bessent was referring to, and what terms the offered deal included, are not explained.
• No response from Iran or from the White House has been reported.